Ahmedabad, February 22 – Left-arm fast-bowling all-rounder Marco Janse took 4-22 as South Africa produced a ruthless bowling display to defeat India by 76 runs in their Super Eights match of the Men’s T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. This defeat, in front of 90,954 fans, was India’s first loss in an ICC event since the 2023 ODI World Cup final at the same venue.
After being reduced to 20/3 within four overs on a slow, black soil pitch, the Proteas staged a remarkable recovery through David Miller and Dewald Brevis. Miller struck a fluent 63 off 35 balls, while Brevis made 45 – their 97-run partnership stabilizing the innings before Tristan Stubbs smashed 44 not out to take South Africa to 187/7.
Jasprit Bumrah was the standout for India with 3-15, supported by Arshdeep Singh’s 2-28, but the rest of the attack struggled to contain the Proteas' counterattack. India's chase never gained momentum, as they slumped to 51/5. Shivam Dube offered some resistance with 42, but the required run rate quickly became unmanageable, as India were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs.
Key statistics from the India vs. South Africa match:
2: Opening batsman Ishan Kishan failed to get off to a good start. It was his second duck in his 41st T20Is match.
31/3: India's score in the powerplay (1-6 overs). This was their lowest score in the current World Cup.
6.8: The average of Indian opening pairs in the current World Cup.
12: After 12 consecutive victories from June 5, 2024 to February 18, 2026, India suffered their first defeat in the T20WC.
9: The number of half-centuries (63) scored by David Miller in 137 T20Is matches. This was his highest score in the T20WC. Overall, it was his 3rd fifty in 31 World Cup matches.
76: South Africa defeated India by 76 runs. This was their biggest defeat (in runs) in the T20WCs. Earlier, Australia beat India by 49 runs at Bridgetown in 2010.
111: India recorded their 3rd lowest total in the T20WC. In 2016, they scored 79 runs against New Zealand in Nagpur, and 110 for 7 against New Zealand in Dubai in 2021.
