T20 World Cup: South Africa beat India by 76 runs in Super Eight
South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj celebrates with captain Aiden Markram after taking the wicket of India’s Hardik Pandya during their T20 World Cup match in the Super Eight Group 1 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India [Shammi Mehra/AFP]
India have been handed a 76-run defeat by South Africa in their first cricket match of the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup and now must win their next two games to have a chance of reaching the semifinals.
The defending champions were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs while chasing a target of 188 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India on Sunday.
It was the cohosts’ first loss of the tournament and also ended their 12-match winning streak in the T20 World Cup that they had carried on from their title-winning run in 2024.
South Africa’s bowlers put on a near-perfect display against a strong Indian batting lineup, and were backed by their fielders to leave the pre-tournament favourites reeling.
India lost their in-form opener Ishan Kishan on the fourth ball of the innings to the offspin bowling of South Africa’s captain Aiden Markram while trying to hit against the spin.
One-down batter Tilak Varma was the next to fall as he was caught behind off the first ball of Marco Jansen’s over.
India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav and out-of-form star batter Abhishek Sharma tried to rebuild their innings until Sharma fell in the fifth over after scoring 15 runs off 12 deliveries.
Incoming batter Washington Sundar and Yadav were the next two wickets to fall as India failed to build a big partnership in front of a large home crowd.
A 35-run partnership between all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube lifted the Indian run chase briefly, but South Africa’s disciplined bowling and near-faultless fielding resulted in regular dismissals for the home side.
Jansen’s superb bowling earned him four wickets for 22 runs off 3.5 overs , while left-arm spin bowler Keshav Maharaj took three for 24 in his four overs.
All of South Africa’s bowlers were economical, with Lungi Ngidi leading the way by conceding only 15 runs in his four wicketless overs.
Earlier, player of the match David Miller’s crucial innings of 63 runs off 35 balls stabilised South Africa’s innings after they were reduced to 20-3 in four overs.
He shared a 97-run partnership with Dewald Brevis, who scored 45 off 29 balls, as the pair resurrected the Proteas after Markram decided to bat first after winning the toss in the first Super Eight match in Group 1.
Despite Miller’s dismissal in the 16th over, South Africa were able to post a formidable total of 187-7, thanks to a 24-ball 44 not out by Tristan Stubbs at the end of the innings.
Jasprit Bumrah picked up 3-15 off his four overs.
The loss propels South Africa to the top of Group 1 in the Super Eight stage, with India at the bottom with a net run rate of -3.80.
The defending champions must win their remaining two games to have a chance of qualifying for the semifinals.
West Indies and Zimbabwe are the other two teams in their group and will face each other on Monday.
South Africa face the West Indies on Thursday, while India play Zimbabwe on Friday.
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