What we saw tonight in Ahmedabad was a thoroughly professional performance by South Africa as they outplayed their opponents India in all facets of the game winning by 76 runs. South Africa started slowly and were under pressure but they recovered through David Miller’s half-century and crucial knocks from Tristan Stubbs and Dewald Brevis also helped the Proteas get to 187/7 in 20 overs. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers for India with figures of 3/15 in 4 overs while Arshdeep Singh finished with 2/28 in 4 overs.
In the second innings, only Shivam Dube finished with 42 runs and showed resistance but it was an all-round bowling display by South Africa led by Marco Jansen who finished with 4/22 in his 4th over while Keshav Maharaj finished with 3 wickets while Corbin Bosch finished with 2 wickets as well. The Proteas finished the game and won by 76 runs to make a statement.
David Miller’s heroics & Tristan Stubbs finish powered South Africa to 187/7Â
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Aiden Markram the captain opened the batting with Quinton de Kock the keeper batter while Arshdeep Singh had ball in hand for India. The South Africans got off to a shaky start as the openers could put only 10 runs to the score before de Kock fell for 6 off 7 balls with one boundary to his name to Jasprit Bumrah who cleaned him up. Ryan Rickelton came out to bat next.
Just 2 runs were added to the tally before Markram fell for 4 off 7 balls to Arshdeep Singh. Dewald Brevis came out to bat next. Another wicket fell soon as another 8 runs were added to the tally before Rickelton fell for 7 off 7 balls with one six to his name to Bumrah yet again. South Africa were in a spot of bother at 20/3 inside the powerplay when David Miller joined Brevis in the middle.
Miller and Brevis started to counter attack against the Indian bowlers. The Indians panicked as well. It was Miller who was the initial aggressor while Brevis complimented him well. The duo took down the Indian spinners especially Varun Chakaravarthy. The duo aced the middle overs phase where India does well in general but tonight South Africa outplayed them in that area. The duo put on 97 for the fourth wicket before Brevis finally fell for 45 off 29 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Shivam Dube.
Tristan Stubbs came out to bat next. Stubbs came and played the perfect role of a finisher while Miller was on song and got his half-century. The duo of Brevis and Miller put on a useful 35 run stand off 21 balls before Miller fell for 63 off 35 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes to his name. Marco Jansen came out to bat next. India came back with a few quick wickets. Just 6 runs were added to the tally before Jansen fell for 2 off 6 balls to Arshdeep Singh. Corbin Bosch came out to bat next.
Another 9 runs were added to the tally before Bosch fell for 5 off 6 balls with one boundary to his name to Jasprit Bumrah. Kagiso Rabada came out to bat next. He faced just one ball. Stubbs added 20 runs off the last 7 balls including 2 sixes off the last two balls as South Africa powered to 187/7 in 20 overs. Stubbs was unbeaten on 44 off 24 balls with one four and three sixes to his name while Rabada was unbeaten on 0 off 1 ball. 11 extras given by the fielding side.
India had a mixed day with the ball. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/15 in 4 overs. Arshdeep Singh finished with 2/28 in 4 overs. Varun Chakaravarthy finished with 1/47 in 4 overs. Shivam Dube finished with 1/32 in 2 overs. Washington Sundar finished with 0/17 in 2 overs. Hardik Pandya finished with 0/45 in 4 overs. So, this meant India’s target was 188 runs to win off 20 overs.
All-Round bowling display led by Marco Jansen’s 4-wicket haul skittled India out for 111
Chasing 188 for the win, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma came out to open for India while Aiden Markram had ball in hand for South Africa. South Africa got an early breakthrough as they removed Ishan Kishan for a duck as Markram struck in his first over. Tilak Varma came out to bat next. Just 5 runs were added to the tally before Tilak fell for 1 off 2 balls to Marco Jansen. Captain Suryakumar Yadav came out to bat next and got off the mark with a few boundaries.
Abhishek and Surya tried to forge a partnership to give India some respectability and the duo added 21 runs for the third wicket before Abhishek fell for 15 off 12 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Marco Jansen. Washington Sundar came out to bat next. India were placed at 31/3 in 6 overs of powerplay.
Washington and Surya were in need of a partnership. The duo could add about 17 runs for the 4th wicket before Sundar fell for 11 off 11 balls with one six to his name. Shivam Dube came out to bat next. Dube tried to get going but by now the writing was very much on the wall. Just 8 runs were added to the tally before Surya fell for 18 off 22 balls with 2 fours to his name to Corbin Bosch. Hardik Pandya came out to bat with India reeling at 51/5 in the 10th over.
Hardik managed to hit a maximum and he was dealing mainly in singles. Dube was doing the heavy lifting as 35 runs were added between Pandya and Dube before Pandya fell for 18 off 17 balls with one six to his name to Keshav Maharaj. Rinku Singh came out to bat next. Maharaj had two in the over as Rinku was removed for a silver duck in the same over. Arshdeep Singh came out to bat next. Another 2 runs were added to the tally before Arshdeep fell for 1 off 2 balls to Maharaj. India were now reeling at 88/8 in 15 overs.
Varun Chakaravarthy came out to bat next. Dube still kept a valiant fight going and hit some lusty blows as the 9th wicket partnership added 23 runs to take India past 100 as Dube scored most of the runs. In the end, when the score reached 111 Dube’s valiant innings came to an end as he was dismissed 42 off 37 balls with one four and three sixes to his name to Jansen. Jasprit Bumrah came and he went for a golden duck as Jansen got his 4th wicket. Varun remained unbeaten on 0 off 3 balls. India were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs. 5 extras given by the fielding side.
Marco Jansen was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa with figures of 4/22 in 3.5 overs. Keshav Maharaj finished with 3/24 in 3 overs. Corbin Bosch finished with 2/12 in 3 overs. Aiden Markram bowled an over for 5 runs and picked up a wicket. Kagiso Rabada went for 32 runs in 4 overs. Lungi Ngidi finished with 0/15 in 4 overs. So, South Africa thrashed India by 76 runs to start their Super 8 campaign with the win. David Miller was adjudged the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead
So, India have been thrashed by South Africa by 76 runs and are going to be under pressure in the next two games. India plays Zimbabwe on Thursday night in Chennai while South Africa plays West Indies in Ahmedabad in afternoon game on Thursday. More Super 8 action comes your way tomorrow. Super 8 Group 1 action as Zimbabwe takes on West Indies live from Mumbai at 7 PM IST. Let’s see how the action unfolds over here.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: South Africa Derail Run Chase With Early Wickets.