Ahmedabad (IANS): Marco Jansen delivered a match-winning spell of 4-22 as South Africa thrashed India by 76 runs in their Super Eights clash of the Men’s T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
In front of 90,954 fans, India suffered their first defeat in an ICC event since the 2023 ODI World Cup final at the same venue.
After collapsing to 20/3 on a slow black-soil pitch, South Africa rebuilt through David Miller (63 off 35) and Dewald Brevis (45), who added 97 runs. Tristan Stubbs then smashed 44 not out to power the Proteas to 187/7.
For India, Jasprit Bumrah impressed with 3-15, while Arshdeep Singh took 2-28. However, India’s chase faltered early as they slumped to 51/5. Shivam Dube fought back with 42, but India folded for 111 in 18.5 overs.
Apart from Jansen, Keshav Maharaj claimed 3-24 and Corbin Bosch picked up two wickets, while skipper Aiden Markram struck early and rotated his bowlers smartly to maintain pressure.
India lost momentum from the start when Ishan Kishan fell attempting a slog off Markram. Jansen then removed Tilak Varma and later deceived Abhishek Sharma with a knuckle ball.
Bosch dismissed Washington Sundar and Suryakumar Yadav in quick succession, tightening South Africa’s grip. Pressure forced Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh into errors, while Maharaj cleaned up the lower order.
With their net run rate slipping to -3.8, defending champions India must now beat Zimbabwe and West Indies to stay alive in the semifinal race.
Brief Scores: South Africa 187/7 (David Miller 63, Dewald Brevis 45; Jasprit Bumrah 3-15) beat India 111 (Shivam Dube 42; Marco Jansen 4-22, Keshav Maharaj 3-24) by 76 runs.
