South Africa defeated India by 76 runs in the Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (February 22). The crushing defeat exposed serious cracks in the Indian batting lineup, which includes world No. 1 batsman Abhishek Sharma.
South Africa dominates India in Super 8 match of T20 World Cup 2026
South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first and posted a strong score of 187/7 on the board against India thanks to a quick half-century from David Miller. Dewald Brewis (45) and Tristan Stubbs (44*) also made valuable contributions to the total at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Chasing the target, the defending champions looked weak as they lost three wickets for just 26 runs inside the powerplay. The pressure kept building and the collapse looked ugly. Shivam Dubey remained the top scorer with 42 runs, while only four other batsmen could cross the 10-run mark.
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Ultimately, the Men in Blue were bowled out for just 111 runs in 18.5 overs. After being out for a duck thrice, Abhishek Sharma finally scored some runs in the tournament, but it was not enough. He scored 15 runs on 12 balls. He hit two fours and a six, but also struggled with timing.
India’s target destroyed by top-order collapse
Abhishek Sharma missed several balls and eventually, he missed a slower ball from Marco Jansen and walked back disappointed. After the heavy defeat, India’s assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate admitted that the top order was not performing well.
The coach also cited Abhishek Sharma’s stomach problem at the beginning of the tournament as the reason for his slow start. The left-handed batsman’s preparation was disrupted due to illness and since then he has been lacking in confidence. His poor performance clearly affected his mentality.
And Ten Doeschate said the coaching staff now faces a big challenge to rebuild Abhishek’s confidence before it is too late. It was not just Abhishek Sharma. Tilak Verma also failed to make an impact at the top, as he could only face two balls for one run against South Africa.
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They don’t need to make excuses for themselves: Ryan ten Doeschate on Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Verma
Ryan ten Doeschate said in the post-match presentation, “It’s a concern. You’ve got four quality players who haven’t performed well so far. I certainly won’t make any excuses for Abhishek Sharma or Tilak Verma. They don’t need to make excuses for them, but I think Abhi’s preparation coming into the World Cup, with food poisoning at one stage, has obviously hindered his progress from where we would have wanted him to be at this stage.” Are.”
He further added, “You want him to be active and confident with his swing and confident with his game plan. And, you know, when you score three zeroes, it starts to affect you. He (Abhishek Sharma) looks a little short, and, you know, our job as a coaching staff is to correct that.”
Rinku Singh out on zero!! Coach defends his tough role
Meanwhile, Rinku Singh fell to zero while trying to attack Keshav Maharaj. His role at number seven has become difficult as India often lose early wickets and the coach has refused to blame him. He also reminded everyone that Rinku has not got her best chance yet.
He signed off by saying, “I think the number seven and eight positions have become incredibly difficult in T20 cricket. Rinku comes into quite a frustrating position again tonight. He has opted to go near the boundary line and try to get us as close as possible. And on a wicket that holds up a bit, that can happen. So, he doesn’t have the best of chances.”
