Ahmedabad, February 22 – After suffering a crushing 76-run defeat to South Africa in their first Super Eights match of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, India captain Suryakumar Yadav said that while the bowlers had performed well, the batting could have been better.
India's chase of 188 on a slow, black soil pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium never recovered after losing Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, and Abhishek Sharma in the powerplay, thanks to some excellent bowling from South Africa.
By the time the halfway mark of the chase was reached, India had lost five wickets and were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs. "I feel we were always in the game when we started. I think we bowled really well in the beginning, 21 for 3, and the way they batted after that from 7 to 15, I think they batted really well, and then we came back again in the game later on. Overall, if we see, we bowled really well, but we could have batted a little better," said Suryakumar in the post-match presentation ceremony.
He also said that the early collapse highlighted the importance of preserving wickets early. "My point is that sometimes, if you're chasing 180-185, you can't win the game in the powerplay, but you might lose the game in the powerplay. We lost too many wickets in the powerplay and then we couldn't have the small partnerships that we wanted for chasing 180-185, but that's part of the game. We learn from it, and we'll come back stronger."
Suryakumar further praised the bowling efforts of fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, who combined for five wickets and kept South Africa in check early in the game. "I think everyone knows that their combination has been very effective. Both of them have played together. If you look at today as well, both of them bowled eight overs, took around five wickets, and conceded around 45-50 runs.
"If I'm not wrong, I'm not good with numbers. But they bowled really well in partnership, and that's what we want from them. Both are experienced, and it's good to have both of them in our team.
Looking ahead to India's next match against Zimbabwe, to be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, Suryakumar said that the team would stick to its approach.
"Hopefully, we will bat well, bowl well, and field well. That's it. We'll try to keep it simple, play the same brand of cricket that we want to play, and nothing will change. I think we'll come back strong."
