India succumbed to a 76-run loss against South Africa in their opening match of the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup. The loss also meant that the team’s net run rate had to take the hit and has now gone into negative territory.
The Performance
Bowling first after losing the toss, India got off to a good start as the fast bowling pair of Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah succeeded in picking three wickets for 20 runs, giving India the upper hand early in the game.
The Comeback
Despite the early breakthroughs provided by Bumrah and Arshdeep, India were not able to make the most of the momentum, which soon shifted in South Africa’s favour courtesy of an aggressive partnership between David Miller and Tristan Stubbs. The duo added 97 runs for the fourth wicket in just 50 balls and helped in getting South Africa’s innings back on track
The Middle Phase
Although the Indian bowling attack, comprising Hardik Pandya, Varun Chakaravarthy, Washington Sundar, who was picked in the playing XI in place of vice-captain Axar Patel to the surprise of many, and Shivam Dube, did pick a few wickets in the middle phase, they were not able to stem the flow of runs.
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The Finish
The inability of the Indian bowlers to contain the South African batters after the first six overs resulted in them posting what eventually proved to be a match-winning total of 187 runs on the board.
The Chase
Chasing a target of 188 runs, Indian batters never really got going against some disciplined bowling from the South African bowling attack, which was led by Marco Jansen, who picked up four wickets and found good support from the likes of Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada, all of whom chipped in at crucial stages of the game.
The Batting
If we talk about Indian batting, it wasfound wanting on a wicket which hadsomething in it for the bowlers, being a black soil, and the opposition bowlers made full use of it by bowling a lot of slower balls, making it difficult for Indian batters to get the hold off as they were dismissed in an attempt to clear the boundary.
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Captains’ Corner
India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav, when asked about India’s performance in this particular match, was honest in his opinion as he said that they need to bowl, bat and field well in the next game. In the words of Suryakumar, “It’s part of the game. We will learn from it, sit back and bounce back. Hopefully bat well, bowl well and field well. Keep it simple. That is what we will try to do.”
The Praise
However, Suryakumar praised the Indian bowlers for keeping India in the game after the way the South African batters were dominating after the first six overs. “We were always in the game when we started. Bowled really well in the beginning. From 7-15, they batted really well, and then we came back. Bowled really well.
“Everyone knows their combination has been lethal, both bowled eight overs, picked five wickets and gave up 45-50 runs. They bowl well in partnerships,” he added.