India endured a nightmare start to the Super 8 season in the T20 World Cup as South Africa suffered a 76-run defeat at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday night. Chasing 187/7, the home team’s batting unit collapsed without offering much resistance, turning a crucial match into a one-sided contest.Slideshow starts immediately Ishan Kishan Dismissed for a duck in the opening over. From that point on, the innings never settled down. Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik PandyaRinku Singh, Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar all failed to make meaningful contributions. Dube topped the list with 42 runs but consumed 37 deliveries, which highlighted India’s struggles to keep up with the required pace. By all accounts, this was a hugely disappointing display.
former india captain Sunil Gavaskar The batting approach was criticized, pointing out the stark contrast to the way South Africa rebuilt their innings.“Yes, if you look at the way Dewald Blewis and David Miller have rebuilt the South Africa innings, you will see that they have bowled more in the ‘V’ shape, especially with the short ball. They have adjusted very well. They have realized that the ball is not coming as quickly as expected. With the bat – it stayed on the surface a little bit and after seeing how they structured their innings and built that partnership, that was the approach that was needed rather than just throwing the bat almost everywhere,” Gavaskar told Star Sports after the game.South Africa themselves were under pressure at 20/3 before Miller and Brewis stabilized the situation. After settling down, the two changed direction and aimed at the Indian attack target. Varun Chakaravarthy (1/47) bore the brunt, while Hardik Pandya (0/45) and Shivam Dube (1/32 in 2 overs) also proved costly.Proteas great Shaun Pollock echoed Gavaskar’s assessment, highlighting India’s inability to adapt to the situation.“I think from India’s perspective, they haven’t adapted enough. South Africa have played three games on this surface, so they have a good idea of ​​how the ground behaves. They struggled in the first four or five overs and had to make adjustments, and it wasn’t until Brevis and Miller’s partnership started that they were able to bat more freely,” he said.The heavy defeat left India with a net run rate of -3.800, complicating their path to the semi-finals. They now have to beat Zimbabwe and West Indies, and do so convincingly, to regain their chances. There is still a big gap in the first group but pressure is mounting on Suryakumar Yadav’s side.
