T20 World Cup: What went wrong for India against South Africa

Dubai: India’s campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup hit a major roadblock on Sunday as South Africa handed them a comprehensive 76-run defeat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad — ending the defending champions’ 12-match unbeaten streak at the tournament.

Having swept through the group stage with four straight wins, India were widely expected to carry their momentum into the Super 8s. Instead, they produced a performance that raised serious questions about their tactics, temperament, and team selection.

Overconfidence

South Africa were in early trouble at 20 for 3, but India failed to press their advantage. Dewald Brevis and David Miller steadied the innings with a composed partnership, advancing the score to 117 for 4 by reading the surface intelligently, playing straight, and handling the short ball with patience.

India’s batters showed none of that discipline. Rather than observing the conditions and building partnerships, they swung hard from the outset and lost wickets in a hurry.

Indian legendary opener Sunil Gavaskar said, “When you look at how Dewald Brevis and David Miller repaired the South African innings, they played shots more in the V. When the bouncers were bowled, they countered them intelligently because they realised that the ball was not coming onto the bat quickly. Having seen how Brevis and Miller built their partnership, that was the approach needed from the Indian batters,” Gavaskar said on JioStar.

“But India did not take notes from South Africa’s innings. They came out and threw their bat at every delivery, hoping for a boundary. That is not how you play T20 cricket. You have to learn from the opposition. If they have scored well on a tricky surface like this, you have to get rid of your ego, observe and adjust. The Indian batters did not do that. They came out with overconfidence, threw their bat at everything and lost wickets,” he added.

Captain Suryakumar Yadav said: “When you’re chasing 180-plus, you can’t win the game in the powerplay — but you can lose it there. We lost too many wickets early, couldn’t build the partnerships we needed, and that cost us.”

Opening woes

India’s batting woes are not new. The top order has been under scrutiny from the very first match of the tournament. Abhishek Sharma notched three ducks in the group stage, while Tilak Varma — returning from injury — has looked well below his best. Only Ishan Kishan has shown consistent form, placing himself among the tournament’s leading run-scorers.

Despite widespread calls to bring in Sanju Samson, the team management has persisted with the struggling duo of Sharma and Varma.

Selection dilemma

The main talking point in the Indian team has been the playing XI. Axar Patel has not featured in the team despite being the vice-captain. Washington Sundar was introduced against the Netherlands and then dropped again for the South Africa game — a decision that baffled many.

Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra questioned the logic directly: “You’ve made Axar Patel the vice-captain. If he’s that important to you off the field, why isn’t he playing? There’s no point giving him the title if he’s sitting on the bench.”

Chopra also pointed out the contradiction in India’s reasoning. They kept Axar out against South Africa citing a left-hander matchup concern — yet South Africa had no hesitation playing their key left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj against an Indian lineup containing six left-handed batters. “South Africa backed their best bowler regardless. India benched their vice-captain over a supposed matchup issue. That decision needs some serious explaining,” Chopra said.