Suryakumar Admits Batting Lapses After Super Eights Loss

Ahmedabad, Feb 2026 : India captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted that his side’s batting fell short after India suffered a crushing 76-run defeat to South Africa in their opening Super Eights match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. While praising the bowlers for giving the team a strong start, Suryakumar said the inability of the batters to build partnerships ultimately cost India the match.

Chasing a challenging target of 188 on a slow black-soil pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium, India never truly recovered from a disastrous powerplay. The early loss of key batters Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma and Abhishek Sharma left the chase in disarray and allowed South Africa to tighten their grip on the contest.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Suryakumar felt India were competitive for large parts of the game, particularly with the ball. “I feel we were always in the game when we started. We bowled really well in the beginning, reducing them to 21 for 3. From overs seven to 15, they batted extremely well, but we managed to come back later. Overall, our bowling effort was very good, but our batting could have been a little better,” he said.

By the halfway stage of the chase, India were already five wickets down, and the required run rate had climbed steeply. Without meaningful partnerships in the middle overs, the pressure continued to mount. India were eventually bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs, handing South Africa a comprehensive victory.

Suryakumar underlined the importance of preserving wickets during the powerplay, especially while chasing a big total. “When you’re chasing 180 to 185, you can’t win the game in the powerplay, but you can definitely lose it there. We lost too many wickets early, and then we couldn’t stitch together the small partnerships we wanted. That’s part of the game. We’ll learn from it, sit back, and come back stronger,” he added.

Despite the defeat, the Indian skipper was full of praise for the pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, who kept South Africa under pressure early in the innings. The pair combined effectively to pick up five wickets and restrict the flow of runs during the initial overs.

“Everyone knows how lethal their combination is. They have played together for a long time. Today as well, they bowled eight overs between them, picked around five wickets and conceded roughly 45 to 50 runs. They bowled really well in partnership, and that’s exactly what we want from them. Both are experienced, and it’s good to have them in our side,” Suryakumar said.

Looking ahead, the India captain stressed that the team would not panic and would stick to its established approach. India are set to face Zimbabwe in their next Super Eights fixture at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, and Suryakumar sounded confident about a strong response.

“Hopefully we bat well, bowl well and field well. We’ll keep it simple and continue to play the same brand of cricket we believe in. Nothing changes. I think we’ll come back strong,” he said, signaling India’s intent to bounce back quickly from their first defeat of the Super Eights stage.