NEW DELHI: The calm assurance India captain Suryakumar Yadav shows in high-pressure moments reminded USA spinner Harmeet Singh of the composure that defined MS Dhoni’s approach during his playing days.

Suryakumar leaned on his experience in the T20 World Cup opener between India and the USA here on Saturday, guiding the hosts out of trouble with an unbeaten 84 off 49 balls, a knock that ultimately separated the two sides.

'Cricket’s global rise accelerates': Sachin Tendulkar salutes USA challenge to India

"Of course, we used to imagine all that but success came late for him. He was always... I think he has got the poise now which MS Dhoni also had later in his career," Harmeet told reporters after the match when asked if he and Suryakumar had ever envisioned the Indian skipper’s career unfolding this way.

"The flair that he had as a stroke-player, he played a sensible innings and he finished the game and played a proper knock."

"The maturity which (players like) Virat (Kohli) have, I played a matured knock and that is what happens with experience and (with) the kind of job he has been given. He is doing a great job," he added.

Harmeet enjoys emotional homecoming

Harmeet himself had a memorable outing on a personal level, returning impressive figures of 4-0-26-2 after removing Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel.

"Firstly it was very emotional, but then it's not just my story. It's the whole team's story, everybody has had that journey, everybody has come from various places, backgrounds and cultures and their ups and downs," he said.

"The (bottom) line is that cricket brings us together and it's a good thing that the tournament was announced a few months earlier so I could get my emotions together," Harmeet added.

Missed chances cost USA dearly

The 33-year-old felt the USA let the game slip due to a couple of costly errors in the field that allowed India to pull away.

"Had we not misfielded a couple of times, it (India's innings) could have been finished at (around) 120, it would have helped the team and produced more chances. All in all, I am happy with the performance, but gutted that we could not finish the game," he said.

Harmeet also revealed how he tried to lift teammates during pressure moments, particularly encouraging Shadley van Schalkwyk to mix short balls with slower deliveries.

"I take a lot of responsibility in bowling, I have some experience as well and I was trying to engage more because in this situation with a big crowd, anybody can feel lonely or under the pump," he said.

"But when a teammate comes around and says 'this was the right delivery', it always helps and that's what I was trying to do."

"It's cricket, anything can happen with anyone. Abhishek Sharma fell for a zero today. But batters don't have to face the humiliation as much as the bowlers have to," Harmeet said.

(With PTI Inputs)