The Indian A team made light work of the USA side as the Ayush Badoni-led side defeated the minnows in the T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up clash at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai, on Monday, February 2.
The Indian side, filled with several IPL stars, turned on a batting show and put up a strong total of 238/3 on the board in the 20 overs after being sent in to bat. The USA put up a decent fight in reply but were never in the chase as they got bowled out for 200 in 19.4 overs.
For the Men in Blue, opening wicketkeeper batter Narayan Jagadeesan slammed a blistering century, while skipper Badoni also hit an unbeaten and fiery 60 from 26 balls to take the team to an above-par score. Jagadeesan was dismissed off 104 from 55 balls as eyes were glued to Tilak Varma.
Tilak Varma clears fitness test on comeback
All the attention was on Tilak Varma, who is making his return after a testicular torsion surgery. The star batter, who is a vital cog in India's batting order for the World Cup, scored a strong 38 from 24 balls and was not in any discomfort during the course of his innings, in which he struck two sixes and three fours.
He also sprinted on the field without any issues and took a good catch backtracking to grab Saiteja Mukamalla of the USA. He later also scalped a wicket and was practising with the ball before the warm-up clash.
Tilak bowled one over as Badoni tried several bowlers against the USA, and the Mumbai Indians batter got a wicket too, dismissing opener Andries Gous, who was also the USA's leading run-scorer of the match.
The USA were hardly in the chase with the target so big as they just tried getting into the groove for the World Cup. For India, Ravi Bishnoi was the stand-out bowler with his 3/37, while Khaleel Ahmed took 2/25 in three overs. Ashok Sharma and Badoni also scalped a wicket each.
However, it was part-timer Naman Dhir who ended the contest with the ball, picking up two wickets in the last over in four balls as India A won the match by 38 runs.
