India played its first match against South Africa in the Super-8 of T20 World Cup 2026. In the match played at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Team India, captained by Suryakumar Yadav, had to face a big defeat by 76 runs. Africa almost won this match unilaterally. So let us know what were the 3 major reasons for India’s defeat in the match.
1- Bad bowling
Very poor bowling was seen from India. South Africa, who came to bat first, put 187/7 runs on the board in 20 overs. The Proteas team made this total when their 3 wickets had fallen at the score of only 20 runs. The team had lost three wickets in the form of Quinton de Kock (06), Aiden Markram (04) and Ryan Rickleton (07).
After the fall of the first 3 wickets, it seemed that the African team would not be able to reach the total of 150 runs, but the innings of David Miller (63), Dewald Brewis (45) and Ryan Rickleton (44) took the team to the total of 187 runs. Here the Indian bowlers looked a complete flop. After losing 3 wickets early, it took a lot of time for Team India to take the fourth wicket. After losing the third wicket for 20 runs, India reduced Africa’s fourth wicket for 117 runs.
2- Playing more slowly than necessary in the beginning
Team India, which came to chase the target of 188 runs, played very slowly in the beginning. On one hand, India’s wickets kept falling, on the other hand the runs were also restricted. India’s score in powerplay i.e. 6 overs was only 31/3 runs. Playing slow like this became difficult for Team India. By playing slowly, the required run rate increased and eventually it became almost impossible.
3- Trust in all-rounder more than batsman
In the run chase, India showed more confidence in all-rounders rather than batsmen. All-rounder Washington Sundar was sent to bat at number five, while Rinku Singh, who was included in the list of main batsmen, came to bat at number eight. By the time Rinku came to the crease, the match was almost lost to India. If Rinku had been sent in place of Sundar, the situation could have been different.
