India captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted his side lost the match against South Africa in the powerplay after slipping to 26 for 3 inside 4.3 overs while chasing 188 in their Super 8 clash in Ahmedabad on Sunday. India were eventually folded for 111 with seven overs to spare, suffering a crushing 76-run defeat.
The defending T20 World Cup champions had been on an 18-match winning streak across ICC white-ball tournaments. They were unbeaten in the 2024 T20 World Cup, replicated that run in the Champions Trophy, and carried the momentum into the ongoing edition, remaining unbeaten in the group stage. However, they were humbled at the same venue where they last lost an ICC white-ball game, the 2023 World Cup final against Australia.
The 76-run margin marked India’s biggest-ever defeat in T20 World Cup history, eclipsing their 49-run loss to Australia 16 years ago in Bridgetown. It was also their second-biggest defeat by runs in all T20Is, behind the 80-run loss to New Zealand in Wellington in 2019.
Speaking to broadcasters after the match, Suryakumar offered an honest assessment, admitting that while a target of 188 cannot be chased down in the powerplay, it can certainly be lost there.
It was Ishan Kishan, rather than Abhishek Sharma, who fell for a duck in the opening over. Abhishek finally got off the mark in the tournament, but South Africa kept him quiet before Marco Jansen deceived him with a knuckleball in the fifth over. Tilak Varma looked aggressive but edged one in the second over. India lost three left-handers within the space of 23 balls, derailing the chase early.
“My thing is sometimes you’ve got to think, if you’re chasing 180-185, you can’t win the game in the powerplay, but you might lose the game in the powerplay. We lost too many wickets in the powerplay and then we couldn’t build the small partnerships we wanted while chasing 180-185, but that’s part of the game,” he said.
While India faltered in the chase, they had begun well with the ball. Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh reduced South Africa to 21 for 3 inside four overs. However, the Proteas recovered strongly through the middle phase, with a crucial partnership between Dewald Brevis and David Miller laying the foundation for 187 for 7.
“I feel we were always in the game when we started. I think we bowled really well in the beginning, 21 for 3, and the way they batted after that from overs 7 to 15, I think they batted really well. Then we came back again later on. Overall, we bowled really well, but we could have batted a little better,” Suryakumar added.
The defeat has dented India’s semifinal hopes. They next face Zimbabwe in Chennai on February 26 before taking on West Indies in Kolkata on March 1. India will also keep a close eye on the other Group 2 Super 8 fixture between Zimbabwe and West Indies in Mumbai on Monday.
