Former India opener Virender Sehwag shared an interesting statistic after India lost to South Africa in their first Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.India gave away 187 runs after being asked to bowl first and were later bowled out for just 111 runs, losing the match by 76 runs. This heavy defeat could reduce their chances of reaching the semi-finals.
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Sehwag pointed out that India have never won a World Cup match chasing more than 160 runs. He said that when the team had a chance to play like Kohli in pressure situations, players like Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya could not come on.“India have won a chase of 160 only when Virat Kohli has been running. Otherwise, India have never scored more than 160 in a World Cup. And in most cases, they have remained unbeaten. Whether it was 80, 60 or 50, Kohli finished the match. Which player finished the match yesterday (vs. SA)? Which batsman completed the match in this World Cup? Yesterday many players had the opportunity to become Virat Kohli,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.From Sehwag’s point of view, Suryakumar Yadav was not at his best against South Africa. He felt that Suryakumar looked under pressure as he tried to save the match and it stopped him from his natural game. Sehwag said that playing with fear does not help the team win big matches. He believes that if India want to succeed in the World Cup, they need to play fearless cricket and remain confident in tough situations.“Whether it is Surya Kumar Yadav. He is not playing the way he played against South Africa… I felt like Surya Kumar Yadav was playing under pressure. He is playing to save. If you play like that, it is difficult to win. India will have to play fearless cricket,” he added.Talking about India’s strong batting line-up, Virender Sehwag said the players must learn from Virat Kohli. He explained that while the strike rate is important in T20 cricket, during the run chase it doesn’t matter much if the batsman lasts till the end and finishes the match for the team. Sehwag added that Indian batsmen need to take more responsibility in pressure situations and focus on winning matches rather than just scoring quickly.“Tilak Verma had a chance. Surya Kumar Yadav had a chance. Shivam Dube had a chance. Hardik Pandey had a chance. Somebody has to become Virat Kohli. Somebody has to finish the match. Somebody has to learn. How did Virat Kohli finish the games? Then we talk about the strike rate. Well, I agree that the strike rate matters. But if you can win the score, you can rate the game and you can It doesn’t matter, I think the players will have to take responsibility,” he added.
