South Africa crushed reigning champions India by 76 runs on Sunday in their Super Eight Group One match of the Twenty20 World Cup, confirming their title credentials and serving notice to opponents.
Electing to bat in a rematch of the 2024 World Cup final, SA raced to a powerful 187-7 after recovering from 20-3.
In response tournament co-hosts India also surrendered their top order to the nerves, and their innings never really broke free from the shackles of chasing a nominal target. They were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs to fall to their first loss of the World Cup.
“We played them quite a lot also,” said David Miller, whose breezy 63 won him the player-of-the-match prize, of the Indian bowlers.
“So it was just about coping with the intensity, if not upping it to play on their bowlers and put them under pressure.
They are good bowlers but they do bowl bad balls. So it’s all about making sure that you’re in that position to do that.”
Prior to that, India did well to blunt the sting from South Africa’s top-order after Aiden Markram’s decision to bat first at Narendra Modi Stadium.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled Quinton de Kock and Arshdeep Singh had Markram caught at mid-off to propel South Africa into the second half of their third over without any openers.
Bumrah’s precision (3-15) came to the fore yet again when he took pace off to fool Ryan Rickelton, who chipped tamely to Shivam Dube at mid-off.
From there, a sizzling 97-run alliance between Miller and Dewald Brevis (45) not only stopped the slide but also put on more flame to India.
Brevis fell agonizingly short of a fifty but Miller raced to his in 26 balls.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy dismissed Miller in the 16th over but Tristan Stubbs gave the last charge with an unbeaten 44 off 24 balls with three sixes.
India’s chase was eerily similar to South Africa’s innings, minus the rescue act.
Markram opened the bowling with off-spinner and the ploy paid early dividends, thanks in part to having three left-handers in India’s top three.
Markram removed the in-form Ishan Kishan in the first over and Marco Jansen bowled number three Tilak Varma in the second.
The third wicket did not fall for another 35 runs and it was Rahul Chahar, who clean bowled opener Abhishek Sharma (15), to get rid of a possible fourth consecutive duck before Kaul removed Washington Sundar (11) — both failed to provide the stability India required at that stage.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav was out for 18 in the 10th over, with India struggling on 51-5 and the chase slipping away by every ball.
Keshav Maharaj then snuffed out India’s last flickering hopes in one telling spell.
The left-arm spinner struck in an eventful 15th over, where he removed Hardik Pandya (18), Rinku Singh and Arshdeep Singh to break the back of South Africa’s lower middle order, leading his team to a win.
Dube’s heroic 42 just managed to make India’s margin of defeat look respectable.
Marco Jansen got rid of Dube and then Bumrah off consecutive balls in the final over to take his tally to 4-22.