In a moment that perfectly expressed the pain of a billion fans, a young Team India supporter was captured on camera fighting back tears after Abhishek Sharma was out during India’s disastrous innings. T20 World Cup Super 8 clash Against South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. Emotional scenes unfolded as India’s hopes of chasing the target of 188 ended spectacularly, with the defending champions ultimately facing defeat. Biggest defeat of T20 World Cup.
A fan’s heartbreak caught on camera
As Abhishek returned to the pavilion after scoring 15 runs in 12 balls, the broadcast camera panned to the stands, where a young girl looked emotional and started crying after seeing the poor state of India’s innings. The video of a distraught fan crying as India reached 31 for 3 inside the powerplay quickly went viral on social media platforms, becoming a poignant symbol of the nation’s collective heartbreak.
The stadium, packed to capacity with 132,000 spectators, fell into stunned silence as Corbyn Bosch pulled off a sensational catch despite almost colliding with teammate Keshav Maharaj. What could have been a costly misjudgment turned into a spectacular success, and for young fans watching their heroes crumble, the disappointment was too much to bear.
Despite colliding with Keshav Maharaj, Corbin Bosch took a brilliant catch.
The dismissal that evoked an emotional reaction came on the third ball of the fifth over. Marco Jansson played a clever fake ball to Abhishek, who failed to take the variation and mistimed his shot badly. The ball went high into the sky of Ahmedabad, but could not go very far, causing panic among the South African fielders.
From mid-wicket, Bosch sprinted to his right, while from mid-on, Maharaj returned sharply. There was confusion for a moment as neither player made a decisive call. Both of them collided under the spinning ball, Maharaj came on top of Bosch as soon as he took the catch.
Replays showed a clearly irritated Bosch looking at Maharaj with a cold expression, muttering something under his breath as he turned his back to the spinner. The tense moment was quickly forgotten in the ensuing ceremonies, but it underlined the high-stakes intensity of the competition.
Here is the video:
– Crictalk (@crictalk7) 22 February 2026
A little relief from Abhishek before another failure
For Abhishek, getting out is another chapter in a nightmare tournament. The 25-year-old left-hander entered the Super 8 clash after three consecutive ducks in the group stage against the United States, Pakistan and the Netherlands. When he finally opened his account with a four off Aiden Markram in the first over, the fans present at the Narendra Modi Stadium heaved a collective sigh of relief.
The boundary gave Abhishek confidence and he then hit a cheeky ramp shot off Kagiso Rabada for six in the third over, making excellent use of the South African fast bowler’s pace. Another full toss from Rabada was sent through cover for four runs, as the young opener looked to counter-attack and inspire India’s chase after losing early wickets.
However, his reckless impatience proved costly. Clearly frustrated by the lack of loose balls and desperate to dominate, Abhishek swung wildly at Jensen’s slower ball, sending it flying high down the leg side. His scores in the T20 World Cup now stand at 0, 0, 0 and 15 – a sequence that has exposed India’s over-dependence on its opening batsmen.
India’s initial problems increased with Abhishek’s dismissal. Ishan Kishan was out for zero on four balls in the very first over, trapping Markram behind the wicket. Immediately after this, in the second over, Tilak Verma was caught by Johnson after scoring just 1 run. India were in deep trouble at 26 for 3 and Abhishek’s wicket made the situation worse.
Washington Sundar failed to steady the innings and was out cheaply, while captain Suryakumar Yadav also could not chase down the target. At one time India’s score was 51 runs for 5 wickets, very few people would have expected such a situation at the beginning of the innings. From there, things went from bad to worse, with the scoreboard reading a worrying 88 for 8 as wickets fell at a rapid pace.
The hosts were eventually all out for 111 runs in 18.5 overs and lost by 76 runs.