‘Threw bat at everything’: Sunil Gavaskar rips into ‘overconfident’ Indian batters after South Africa defeat

New Delhi: The legendary Sunil Gavaskar slammed India’s poor batting show after their embarrassing 76-run defeat in their Super Eight opener against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, in the T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday. A terrible batting collapse saw India endure their biggest-ever defeat in terms of runs in a T20 World Cup game.

India’s star-studded batting line-up fell like a pack of cards in a tricky chase of 188 runs as the defending champions were skittled out for a paltry 111 runs in just 18.5 overs. Gavaskar ripped into the Indian batters for their reckless batting, explaining how their overconfidence led to the shattering defeat.

Speaking after the game on JioStar, Gavaskar said India needed to take a cue from South Africa on how they approached their innings despite getting off to a shaky start. The Proteas lost three wickets inside the first four overs, but built partnerships to stage a fightback and post a strong total of 187 runs on the board in 20 overs.

Gavaskar bashed Indian batters for being ‘overconfident’ in their approach and going after every bowler while failing to adapt to the conditions and the situation.

“Having seen how Brevis and Miller built their partnership, that was the approach needed from the Indian batters,” Gavaskar said on JioStar.

“The Indian batters did not do that. They came out with overconfidence, threw their bat at everything and lost wickets. South Africa clearly outsmarted India and it was a well-deserved win for them,” he added.

In pursuit of the 188-run target, India got off to a nightmare start as they lost in-form opener Ishan Kishan on a duck, before Tilak Varma was sent packing cheaply on just 1 off 2 balls. Abhishek Sharma’s disastrous run continued as he managed only 15 off 12 balls, while skipper Suryakumar Yadav too failed to deliver.

Gavaskar said failure to adapt to the conditions on a tricky surface resulted in India’s spectacular batting collapse in the game. “India did not take notes from South Africa’s innings. They came out and threw their bat at every delivery, hoping for a boundary. That is not how you play T20 cricket,” said the legendary batter.

“You have to learn from the opposition. If they have scored well on a tricky surface like this, you have to get rid of your ego, observe and adjust,” he added.

Sunil Gavaskar criticises Tilak Varma

Gavaskar