New Delhi: The Indian men’s cricket team arrived in Chennai on Monday ahead of their second Super 8 match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 against Zimbabwe on February 26 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.Push boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India are looking to bounce back from a 76-run defeat to South Africa in the Super 8 opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The defeat ended India’s 18-match unbeaten run in the ICC white-ball tournament, which began when they lost to Australia in the 2023 World Cup final at the same venue. It was also India’s second-biggest loss in T20 Internationals after the 80-run loss to New Zealand in Wellington in 2019, and their heaviest defeat in T20 World Cup history.Against South Africa, the Proteas stabilized their innings with 187/7 after David Miller (63) and Dewald Brevis (45) combined for 97 runs for the fourth wicket. Tristan Stubbs added momentum to the team with an unbeaten 44.For India, Jasprit Bumrah (3/15) and Arshdeep Singh (2/28) were the standout bowlers while Varun Chakaravarthy and Shivam Dube took one wicket each.India were chasing 188 but could never gain momentum. Shivam Dube hit 42 but no batsman has hit such a half-century and the defending champions were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs. Marco Jansen (4/22), Keshav Maharaj (3/24), Corbin Bosch (2/12) and captain Aiden Markram (1/5) starred in the victory.The heavy defeat has dented India’s net run-rate, which currently stands at -3.800. To stay in the race for a semi-final spot, India must win their remaining Super 8 Group 1 matches and improve their NRR significantly to avoid relying on other results.
