Ahmedabad, 23 February. Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav, after a crushing 76-run defeat at the hands of South Africa in the first match of the Super 8 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup on Sunday night, admitted that his team failed in every department and many experiments proved unsuccessful.
South Africa win by 76 runs in Ahmedabad. #TeamIndia set their sights on a turnaround in the next game.
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— BCCI (@BCCI) February 22, 2026
Surya said after the match, ‘Our team could have performed better in batting. I think we were always in the game in the beginning. We bowled very well in the beginning. Three wickets for 21 runs, and the way they batted after that, I think they batted very well and then we came back later in the match. Overall, if we look at it, we bowled very well, but we could have batted a little better.
𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐧
India’s 12-match unbeaten run at the #T20WorldCup ends with the loss to South Africa.
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— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) February 22, 2026
‘We will come back stronger after some rest’
The Indian captain said, ‘I believe that sometimes you have to think, if you are chasing 180-185 runs, you may not win the match in the powerplay, but may lose in the powerplay. We lost a lot of wickets in the powerplay and then we couldn’t build small partnerships that we needed to chase 180-185, but that’s part of the game. We learn from this, we will take some rest and then come back stronger.
Praised the pace battery of Bumrah and Arshdeep
Regarding the fast bowling of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, Suryakumar said, ‘I think everyone knows that their pair (Bumrah-Arshdeep) has been very lethal. Both have played together. If you look at this match also, both of them bowled eight overs each, took five wickets and gave 45-50 runs. If I’m not mistaken, I don’t know much about statistics. But he bowled very well in partnerships and that is what we expect from him. Both are experienced and it is good to have both in our team.
A rip-roaring performance from South Africa to hand India their first defeat at #T20WorldCup 2026
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— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) February 22, 2026
Regarding plans for the next match against Zimbabwe, Surya said, ‘Hopefully we will perform well in batting, bowling and fielding. That is all. We will try to adopt a simple strategy, play the kind of cricket we want to play and nothing will change. I think we will make a strong comeback.
South Africa with all-round performance 76 won by runs
It is noteworthy that after David Miller’s stormy half-century (63 runs, 35 balls, three sixes, seven fours), due to the excellent performance of the bowlers led by Marco Yansen (4-22), South Africa not only achieved a one-sided victory but also put an end to India’s unbeaten streak in the competition. India had won the title without losing a single match in the last T20 World Cup held in West Indies and America in 2024, while this was the first defeat for the host team, which was undefeated in four matches in the preliminary league stage of the current tournament. This was also India’s second biggest defeat in terms of runs.
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