South Africa ended India’s 12-match winning streak at the T20 World Cup with a commanding 76-run victory in Ahmedabad on Sunday, in the opening Group 1 Super Eights match.
After a counter-attacking 63 from David Miller and a late surge from Tristan Stubbs lifted South Africa to 187-7, India crumbled to 111 all out in 18.5 overs, struggling in their first chase of the tournament.
Left-arm pacer Marco Jansen claimed 4-22, while left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj took 3-24, exposing the vulnerabilities of India’s batting line-up.
“Great performance. Very different type of wicket to what we’ve had here, so great to see the boys assess that early and adapt their skills to execute their plans,” said South Africa captain Aiden Markram.
“We’re really pumped for the bowling group. They’ve been working hard, started the competition a bit tough, but the way they performed tonight was fantastic.”
India Faces Uphill Battle
India, favorites to defend their title at home, now need victories in their remaining Super Eight games against Zimbabwe and the West Indies to stay in contention. The heavy defeat also leaves India with a poor net run rate, which could be decisive in a tightly contested group.
“We bowled really well, but we could have batted better,” said India captain Suryakumar Yadav. “Sometimes you’ve got to think, if you’re chasing 180-185, you can’t win the game in the power play, but you might lose it. We lost too many wickets early.”
Fans Silenced at Narendra Modi Stadium
The match was a rematch of the 2024 T20 World Cup final in Barbados, where India had defeated South Africa. India’s unbeaten run in the tournament had extended from their last loss in the 2022 semi-final against England.
South Africa struck early in India’s innings when Markram dismissed Ishan Kishan with his off-spin. Abhishek Sharma briefly lifted the crowd with a four off Markram, but Marco Jansen quickly removed him and Tilak Varma, leaving India reeling at 51-5.
Keshav Maharaj then delivered a decisive over, taking three wickets in a single over to dismiss Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, and Arshdeep Singh. Shivam Dube’s late 42 runs came too late, and India was all out shortly after Jasprit Bumrah’s dismissal.
South Africa’s Batting Brilliance
Batting first, South Africa slipped to 20-3 before Miller and Dewald Brevis (45) put together a 97-run partnership, stabilizing the innings. Tristan Stubbs provided a finishing flourish with an unbeaten 44 off 24 balls, smashing the final two balls for six.
India’s Jasprit Bumrah was the only bowler to stand out, taking 3-15, but it wasn’t enough to contain South Africa’s strong total.
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