India captain Suryakumar Yadav blamed his team for poor batting following their crushing defeat against the South African national cricket team in the Super 8 match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup T20 on Sunday, February 22, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Chasing a target of 188, India were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs as South Africa ended their 12-match T20 World Cup winning streak.
India’s chase got off to the worst possible start as Ishan Kishan was dismissed for a duck in the very first over, while Tilak Varma (1 off 2) and Abhishek Sharma (15 off 12) also fell cheaply as the Men in Blue finished the powerplay at 31 for 3. After the defeat, Suryakumar admitted that he had failed in the batting of what had become a solid batting line-up.
T20 World Cup: IND vs SA Update
“When you’re chasing 188, you can’t win the game in the powerplay, but you can certainly lose it. We lost too many wickets during that phase and weren’t able to build the small partnerships we needed when we were chasing 188. But that’s part of the game. We’ll learn from it, take a step back and come back stronger,” Suryakumar Yachdav said at the post-match presentation.
Despite the crushing defeat, Suryakumar insisted that the team will continue with the same batting and encouraged his players to bounce back strongly.
“Hopefully we will bat well, mix well and bowl well. We will keep things simple, stick to the brand of cricket we want to play and nothing will change. I am sure it will bounce back strongly,” he added.
How are India’s semi-final chances affected?
Indian batters never looked settled in the crease and often seemed to be in a hurry to complete a running chase. Their aggressive type of cricket failed miserably as they struggled to rotate the strike and lost wickets when attempting big shots. As a result, India’s batting woes continued in the tournament, leaving them in a precarious position.
Their net run rate was severely affected by the defeat and now stands at -3,800. India need to win both their remaining matches against Zimbabwe and West Indies to keep their hopes alive in the tournament.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
February 22, 2026
