South Africa delivered a clinical all-round performance to defeat India by 76 runs in their ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Sunday, halting India's unbeaten run and denting their net run rate in the crucial stage.
South Africa captain Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to bat first on a black-soil pitch that offered early assistance to seamers but improved for batting later. The Proteas were rocked early, slumping to 20/3 in the powerplay as Jasprit Bumrah (3/15) and Arshdeep Singh (2/28) struck with swing and precision. Bumrah dismantled the top order with a bail-trimmer to Quinton de Kock, a slower ball to Ryan Rickelton, and a yorker to Corbin Bosch.
However, South Africa staged a remarkable recovery through a 97-run stand between Dewald Brevis and David Miller. Miller top-scored with a belligerent 65 off 35 balls (including six boundaries and three sixes), earning the "Killer Miller" moniker for his aggressive middle-overs assault. Brevis contributed with a no-look six off Varun Chakaravarthy, while Tristan Stubbs provided a late flourish with two massive sixes off Hardik Pandya, finishing unbeaten on 44. South Africa posted a competitive 187/7 in 20 overs.
Chasing 188, India's innings unraveled swiftly. They lost Ishan Kishan for a duck (caught off Markram's undercutter) and Tilak Varma (edged behind off Marco Jansen, confirmed by UltraEdge). Abhishek Sharma fell to Jansen's knuckle ball, Washington Sundar edged to the keeper off Corbin Bosch, and Suryakumar Yadav toe-ended to mid-wicket.
Reduced to 86/5 after 14 overs, the middle order collapsed further as Keshav Maharaj struck twice in the death overs, dismissing Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh (both caught by Stubbs, completing a hat-trick of catches). Shivam Dube offered brief resistance with 42 but was removed by Jansen (4/22 overall). India were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs.
South Africa's bowling was disciplined: Jansen's seam variations troubled left-handers, Maharaj exploited spin, and the pace unit maintained pressure. This marked India's first chase loss since Adelaide 2022 and their heaviest defeat in recent T20Is against the Proteas.
The result strengthens South Africa's position as contenders, while India face a net run rate setback ahead of their remaining Super 8 fixtures. Bumrah's spell remained a highlight, but the batting faltered against quality seam and spin on a tacky surface.
No major records were broken, but the match signalled at South Africa's ability to bounce back and India's vulnerability under scoreboard pressure in high-stakes encounters.
Brief scorecard:
South Africa: Aiden Markram c Pandya b Arshdeep Singh 4 Quinton de Kock b Bumrah 6 Ryan Rickelton c Dube b Bumrah 7 Dewald Brevis c Abhishek Sharma b Dube 45 David Miller c Tilak Varma b Varun 63 Tristan Stubbs not out 44 Marco Jansen c Singh b Arshdeep Singh 2 Corbin Bosch c & b Bumrah 5 Kagiso Rabada not out 0 Extras: (b-1, lb-2, nb-2, w-6) 11 Total: 187/7 in 20 overs Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-12, 3-20, 4-117, 5-152, 6-158, 7-167 Bowling: Arshdeep Singh 4-0-28-2, Jasprit Bumrah 4-0-15-3, Varun Chakravarthy 4-0-47-1, Washington Sundar 2-0-17-0, Hardik Pandya 4-0-45-0, Shivam Dube 2-0-32-1.
India: Ishan Kishan c Rickelton b Aiden Markram 0 Abhishek Sharma c Corbin Bosch b Marco Jansen 15 Tilak Varma c Quinton de Kock b Marco Jansen 1 Suryakumar Yadav c Brevis b Corbin Bosch 18 Washington Sundar c Quinton de Kock b Corbin Bosch 11 Shivam Dube c Ngidi b Marco Jansen 42 Hardik Pandya c Stubbs b Keshav Maharaj 18 Rinku Singh c Stubbs b Keshav Maharaj 0 Arshdeep Singh c Stubbs b Keshav Maharaj 1 Varun Chakravarthy not out 0 Jasprit Bumrah c Markram b Marco Jansen 0 Extras: (lb-1, w-4) 5 Total: (All out in 18.5 overs) 111 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-5, 3-26, 4-43, 5-51, 6-86, 7-86, 8-88, 9-111 Bowling: Aiden Markram 1-0-5-1, Marco Jansen 3.5-0-22-4, Kagiso Rabada 4-0-32-0, Lungi Ngidi 4-0-15-0, Keshav Maharaj 3-0-24-3, Corbin Bosch 3-0-12-2.
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