'But You Can Lose It': Suryakumar Yadav Reflects on India's Heavy Defeat to South Africa

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India suffered a dismal defeat at the hands of South Africa in their T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eight opener on Sunday.

At the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, the Proteas snapped India's record 12-match winning streak in T20 World Cups, securing a massive 76-run victory in their first Super Eight encounter.

Despite a masterclass from Jasprit Bumrah (3/15), India's batting order crumbled under the lights. Chasing 188, the Men in Blue were bundled out for just 111 in 18.5 overs, marking their heaviest-ever defeat by runs in T20 World Cup history.

In the post-match presentation, a candid Suryakumar Yadav admitted that while the bowlers did their job, the batting unit failed to show the necessary restraint during the chase.

"I feel we were always in the game when we started. I think we bowled really well in the beginning, 21 for 3, and the way they batted after that from 7 to 15, I think they batted really well, and then we came back again in the game later on. Overall, if we see, we bowled really well, but we could have batted a little better," Surya said after the match.

"My thing is sometimes you've got to think, if you're chasing 180-185, you can't win the game in the powerplay, but you might lose the game in the powerplay. We lost too many wickets in the powerplay and then we couldn't have small, small partnerships which we wanted for chasing 180-185, but that's part of the game."

Praise for the Bumrah-Arshdeep Duo

Despite the batting disaster, the Indian pacers did extremely well. Bumrah was excellent with three wickets, while Arshdeep also chipped in with wickets.

"I think everyone knows their combination (Bumrah-Arshdeep) has been very lethal. Both of them have played together. If you see today also, both of them bowled eight overs, picked around five wickets and gave around 45-50 runs. If I'm not wrong, I'm not good with numbers. But they bowled really well in partnership and that's what we want from them. Both are experienced and it's good to have both of them in our side," the India captain concluded.

With this loss, India currently sits at the bottom of Super 8 Group 1 due to a significantly negative Net Run Rate. Their upcoming clash against Zimbabwe is now a "must-win" to stay in the hunt for a semi-final spot.