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5 reasons why India lost against South Africa: David Miller's blistering half-century helped South Africa hand India a crushing 76-run defeat in the T20 World Cup 2026. India's batting flopped badly in this match, resulting in the team's biggest defeat in terms of runs in ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2026 history. India's bowling, along with its batting, was also poor, allowing South Africa to post a high total.
Miller proved to be a hero for the Proteas, scoring 63 runs off 35 balls, completely changing the course of the match. India's bowling, apart from Arshdeep Singh and Jasprit Bumrah, leaked runs, which was one of the reasons South Africa managed to score 187 and defeat India resoundingly. So, let's explore five reasons for India's defeat against South Africa.
India vs South Africa: 5 Major Reasons Why Team India Lost the Match
5. Batting Collapse at the Top
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India's opening pair failed to add a single run in this match against South Africa. Ishan Kishan was dismissed without scoring a single run. Tilak Varma then returned to the pavilion after scoring a single run. Shivam Dube scored the highest score for Team India with 42 runs. No other batsman could even reach 20 runs, and this was the biggest reason for India's defeat.
4. Lack of Match-Defining Partnerships
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The Indian batting flopped badly in this match. The Indian batsmen failed to form a significant partnership that could have helped Team India make a comeback. The highest partnership for India in this match was 35 runs, which was between Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. This alone indicates that India's batsmen performed poorly.
3. Tactical Error: Promoting Washington Sundar
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All-rounder Washington Sundar was promoted to bat at number five in this match. He faced 11 balls and scored only 11 runs, which increased the required run rate. Rinku Singh could have been sent in place of Sundar, who would have taken some time to understand the pitch better and could have played big shots in the end.
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2. Bowlers other than Bumrah and Arshdeep failed
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South Africa, batting first against India, scored 187 runs in this match. Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets and Arshdeep Singh took one wicket, striking three wickets early on. However, the Indian bowlers failed to take wickets in the middle overs. Varun Chakravarthy got one wicket but conceded 47 runs in four overs. Shivam Dube also conceded 32 runs in two overs, while Hardik Pandya also conceded 45 runs in four overs. Meanwhile, Bumrah took 3 wickets for 15 runs in his four overs, while Arshdeep Singh took 2 wickets for 28 runs.
1. Poor Team Selection
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India also made a mistake in team selection in this match against South Africa. Team India dropped vice-captain Axar Patel, who was performing well with the ball. Furthermore, there have been numerous instances when Axar Patel has scored runs after Team India's top order has failed. The T20 World Cup 2024 final is a prime example of this. Washington Sundar was given the opportunity in place of Axar, who bowled just two overs and scored only 11 runs with the bat.
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