IND VS SA T20 WC26: Ahmedabad Silenced Again As South Africa Humiliate Suryakumar & Co By 76 Runs In India's Worst Defeat In T20 World Cup History
· Free Press Journal
South Africa outwitted defending champions India with a 76- run win in their first Super Eights match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday. Defending champions India were on a 12-match winning streak in T20 World Cups, which ended abruptly with a mere capitulation in Ahmedabad.
It was an utter disappointment for the approximately 82,000 spectators who had turned out to support the hosts, who had dominated the world in the format prior to this tournament. The heavy loss doesn’t just rob India of two points but also severely affects the net run rate.
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South Africa tackled Varun Chakravarthy (1/47) smartly to negate India’s spin threat and put 187/7 on the board, and later bowlers executed plans well to restrict India to a disappointing 11 all-out in 18.5 overs. Corbin Bosch (2 for 12) and Marco Jansen (4 for 22) did early damage before Keshav Maharaj (3 for 24) killed the chase with three wickets in the 15th over.
David Miller hammered 63 in 35 balls to power South Africa in the company of Dewald Brevis (45 in 29 balls) after Jasprit Bumrah’s (3/15) early two-wicket burst had reduced Proteas to 20 for three in four overs. The aggressive duo shared 97 runs for the fourth wicket to allow South Africa to dictate in the middle overs.
Miller hit seven boundaries and three sixes while Brevis smashed three sixes and three boundaries. Two of these sixes were on free hits as Indian bowlers conceded two no-balls and six wides. Chakravarthy (1/47) bowled one of his most expensive spells, but he accounted for dangerous Miller in the 16th over to give the hosts a chance to tighten the screws.
Bumrah gave only eight runs in his two death overs and took a wicket to become India’s highest wicket-taker in T20 World Cups. Arshdeep Singh (2/28), who got things underway for India, also had a good game. However, Tristan Stubbs (44 not out) finished with two sixes to get 20 runs of the last over, bowled by Hardik Pandya (0/45). India conceded two sixes on free hits and bowled six wides.
As expected, skipper Aiden Markram bowled the first over in India’s chase, and Ishan Kishan (0) almost played straight to mid-on but was just short and later holed to mid-off next ball. Ahishek Sharma got underway in the tournament with a boundary through point. He later played a smart upper cut for six off Kagiso Rabada and later pounced on a full toss to score four.
But Abhishek’s (15) poor tournament continued after he was too early to play a pull short of Jansen's slower one and skied it. Corbin Bosch took a nice running catch despite a minor collision with Keshav Maharaj at mid-wicket. Tilak Varma (1) also had perished to Jansen early as India were struggling at 31/3 in six overs.
Washington Sundar (11) lifted spirits with a big six off Keshav Maharaj. But he too was dismissed by Bosch, an over later. Suryakumar Yadav and Shivam Dube were left to do consolidation work. Surya was hit on the body by Lungi Ngidi while trying his trademark sweep shot. He couldn’t control that shot and over later as Brevis took an easy catch with bowler Bosch bossing about the situation. India was going nowhere at 57 for 5 at the halfway mark in search of a stiff target.
India required 102 runs in 36 balls, and three batters, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, and Arshdeep Singh, holed to deep off Maharaj in the 15th over as Stubbs took all three acrobatic catches on the boundary. Dube (42) played a few shots, but by then the results were evident, and half of the spectators were already on their way out.