T20 World Cup 2026: 3 reasons why India lost against South Africa

South Africa hammered the Indian team by 76 runs in their first Super 8 match at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. This is India’s biggest margin of defeat in the history of the T20 World Cup. Thanks to David Miller (63 off 35), Dewald Brevis (45 off 29), and Tristan Stubbs (44 off 24), South Africa posted a mammoth 187 runs after opting to bat first. In response, the Indian team was bowled out for just 111 runs. 
During the chase, the Indian batters were totally outplayed by South African bowlers. Apart from Shivam Dube (42 off 37), no batsman could stand against South African bowlers. In this article, we’re going to analyze 3 major reasons why India lost against South Africa. 

1. Wicket drought in the middle overs

Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh gave India a strong start, taking three wickets for just 20 runs in the first 4 overs. However, India's bowlers then failed to take wickets in the middle overs, allowing Africa to return to the match. India's fourth success came in the 13th over, but by then the African batsmen were well established. Varun Chakravarthy had a poor day, conceding 47 runs in 4 overs and taking 1 wicket. Washington Sundar played instead of Axar Patel, but he delivered only 2 overs. Shivam Dube (32 runs, 2 overs, 1 wicket) and Hardik Pandya (45 runs, 4 overs, 1 wicket) also went expensive. If Bumrah and Arshdeep had not bowled brilliantly in the last overs, Africa could have scored more than 200 runs.

2. Early collapse again & batter's defensive approach

Chasing 188, India needed a solid start from their top order. However, India lost two wickets in the first ball of the second over. Ishan Kishan, who had been in excellent form till now, was dismissed without scoring a run. Tilak Verma, however, continued his poor form and also returned to the pavilion after scoring just one run. After this, Abhishek Sharma finally opened his account in this World Cup, but he was dismissed after scoring 15 runs. And the team's score became 26/3 in 4.3 overs. 
Following this, Captain Suryakumar Yadav and Washington Sundar started the game with singles and doubles, but just as both tried to accelerate, they were dismissed. By 51, half the Indian team had returned to the pavilion. From here, it was almost confirmed that India would lose the match, and now the batters just want to try to reduce the margin of defeat.

3. Washington Sundar’s inclusion instead of Axar Patel 

In this match, the Indian team management entered with the same playing XI that was played against the Netherlands. It means India’s vice captain, Axar Patel, once again be sitted in the bench. Washington Sundar got his second match in the T20 World Cup 2026, but he wasn’t properly utilised in the match. He bowled only 2 overs when left-hand David Miller was batting, and after this, while chasing, when India lost three quick wickets, the team once again made a questionable call by promoting him to No. 5, despite Hardik Pandya’s ability as an all-rounder to single-handedly turn the game around from any position. Hardik came to bat at 7, when India needed 136 runs in just 65 balls. If Axar Patel was played, and Hardik had gone at No. 5, maybe the result could have been different.