The Super 8 match of the Men’s T20 World Cup between host India and South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium ended with a dominant victory for the Proteas. South Africa had a slow start, struggling against the bowling of Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. However, the duo of Dewald Brevis and David Miller staged a valuable fightback during the middle overs, and with Tristan Stubbs adding the finishing touches, South Africa posted a total of 187 runs.
India, who have struggled with their batting throughout the tournament, faced the brunt of South Africa's pace attack and Keshav Maharaj, getting bundled out for just 111 runs in front of a crowd of over 70,000. This defeat puts India in a difficult position at the start of their Super 8 campaign, while South Africa emerges as one of the favorites for the tournament.
What Went Wrong with India’s Batting?
Team India came into this tournament as one of the strongest batting forces, but has faced various challenges. Their approach in this match was to be aggressive from the first ball. Ishan Kishan, who opened the batting alongside Abhishek Sharma, attempted to attack Aiden Markram but was dismissed for a duck. Tilak Varma, expected to anchor the innings, also fell cheaply. Meanwhile, Abhishek Sharma, the leading batter in this format, was desperate to score his first run of the tournament after three consecutive ducks. He eventually got off the mark but struggled against the slower balls and was dismissed after a tough innings.
India’s batting struggles were evident as the Proteas consistently bowled well, defending their total effectively. The team's pattern of collapses continued, with only one batsman typically able to stay and finish the innings. Against a strong team like South Africa, such collapses were inevitable, and India's aggressive intent was stifled by high-quality bowling
Now, India needs to win their remaining two matches with a healthy net run rate to have hopes of qualifying for the next round, facing Zimbabwe and West Indies next in their Super 8 clash.
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