Defending champions India suffered a crushing 76-run defeat at the hands of South Africa in the third Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup. The team lost after winning 12 consecutive matches in the T20 World Cup. The African team won the toss and elected to bat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This was India’s first loss in a T20 World Cup match since going down against eventual champions England at the 2022 edition in Australia.
The Proteas team scored 187 runs for 7 wickets in 20 overs. In reply, the Indian team was all out for 111 runs in 18.5 overs. Marco Jansen took 4 wickets, Keshav Maharaj took 3 wickets, Corbin Bosch took 2 wickets and Aiden Markram took 1 wicket. Shivam Dube top-scored with 42 runs.
Earlier, David Miller scored 63 runs off 35 balls for South Africa, while Dewald Brevis scored 45 runs. Tristan Stubbs scored an unbeaten 44 runs off 24 balls. Jasprit Bumrah took three wickets, while Arshdeep Singh took two wickets.
India’s chase of 188 got off to a rough start. Ishan Kishan was gone for a duck in the first over, caught by Aiden Markram. Marco Jansen came in next and sent Tilak Varma back after just one run. Fans pinned their hopes on Abhishek Sharma, hoping he’d finally deliver in this Super 8 match, but he only put up 15 runs before getting out.
So it was not much better than his recent run of ducks. Shivam Dube tried to hold things together and managed a fighting 42, but he was gone as the ninth wicket. Rinku Singh didn’t even get off the mark. Not a great day for India’s batting lineup, thanks to lethal bowling from Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj. David Miller was named Player of the Match for his explosive innings of 63 runs.
India’s loss leaves them stuck at the bottom of their Group in the Super 8s as they will search for their first points in their next clash. Meanwhile, West Indies and Zimbabwe kick off their Super 8 journey on Monday. Right now, South Africa lead the pack with an impressive net run rate of 3.800.
Brief Scores:
South Africa-187/7 (David Miller 63; Jasprit Bumrah 3/15) beat India– 111 all out (Shivam Dube 42; Marco Jansen 4/22) by 76 runs.
