South Africa defeated the Indian team by 51 runs and took themselves to a new high in T20I cricket. They became the team with the most wins against India in the shortest format of the game as they surpassed Australia and England with 13 wins against the Men in Blue.
South Africa has been one of the strongest teams in the cricket world for many years, yet they have not been able to win an ICC title. Although they missed out on winning the ICC T20 World Cup title in 2024 last year, they are still the most successful opponents against India.
The Proteas continued their stellar run in the shortest format of the game as they leveled the series against India in the second match in New Chandigarh. This match also marked the spectacular comeback of Quinton de Kock in international T20 cricket.
South Africa broke its own T20 record in New Chandigarh
After losing the first match by 100+ runs, South Africa defeated India by 51 runs in the second match. India vs South Africa 2nd match of 5 match series South Africa posted a huge score at the Maharaja Yadvendra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.
Quinton de Kock, who made his international comeback in Pakistan last month, made a brilliant return to the format by scoring 90 runs in 46 balls. Although the batsman missed getting close to his century, he still helped his team reach a total of 200+.
The Protea bowlers continued to perform brilliantly and the home side were all out for 162 in less than 20 overs, with Tilak Verma the only promising scorer. Ottniel Bartman dismissed four Indian batsmen giving just 24 runs in four overs.
With this win, South Africa have not only leveled the series but also won 13 matches against India in T20Is, the most for the Men in Blue against any opponent. They have left behind Australia and England, who have won 12 matches against the opposition team.
Most wins against India in T20Is:
| Team | Match | Victory | Garland |
| South Africa | 33 | 13 | 19 |
| Australia | 37 | 12 | 22 |
| England | 29 | 12 | 17 |
| new zealand | 25 | 10 | 14 |
| west indies | 30 | 10 | 19 |
India cannot depend only on Abhishek Sharma for good starts
India is once again moving towards a team dependent on one player, which was not under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. India are very dependent on players like Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Verma for runs, especially at the beginning of the innings.
Abhishek Sharma can’t win all games for India; Even captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted that he and Shubman Gill should play their roles. Abhishek scored 17 runs, Gill was out for zero and captain Sky was out for just 5 runs.
“I think I, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can’t rely on Abhishek all the time. The way he is batting, he might have had an off day. I, Shubman and some other batsmen should have taken care of that,” Suryakumar said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Are Indian leaders a burden on the T20 team?
The Indian T20I team has seen its captain Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill faltered on several occasions. The captain has averaged below 20 since donning the band, and Shubman, who only made a comeback in T20Is this year, has failed to prove his point at the top of the order.
“Shubman got out on the very first ball. But I should have taken that responsibility, batted a little deeper. But as I said we learn, we try to perform better in the next game coming,” Suryakumar Yadav said, taking the blame for his poor performance with the bat.
Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin accuses CSK of underutilizing Shivam Dube after 2nd IND vs SA T20I
