AHMEDABAD: Defending T20 World Cup champions India need “two big performances” to reach the semi-finals after Sunday’s huge defeat to South Africa, their assistant coach said.
India came into the T20 World Cup as popular favorites at home but were thrashed by 76 runs in the Super Eights as 80,000 fans at the massive Narendra Modi Stadium were stunned into silence.
In their first chase of the tournament, India’s batting came up woefully short in the face of some disciplined South African bowling.
India collapsed to 111 all out in 18.5 overs in reply to South Africa’s 187-7 as their 12-match winning streak in the T20 World Cup came to an end.
The magnitude of the defeat has left India with a desperate net run rate of -3.8 and likely to have to win their last two Super Eight matches convincingly to reach the semi-finals.
Anything less and India will have to rely on a combination of other results going their way.
“Very disappointed with the performance,” said Ryan ten Doeschate.
“When you set out to win a World Cup, you don’t expect someone to come and deliver it to you halfway through,” added the assistant coach.
“We’ve messed up on a grand scale and now it’s up to this group of guys to turn it around and deliver two solid performances.”
India are grouped with South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe in the Super Eights, with the top two advancing to the semi-finals.
The West Indies face Zimbabwe on Monday night in Mumbai in their Super Eights opener.
India next face giants Zimbabwe, who have already beaten Australia and Sri Lanka, on Thursday in Chennai.
South Africa play the West Indies on the same day in Ahmedabad, where Aiden Markram’s side could put one foot firmly in the semi-finals with another win.
‘The cloak came off’
“Obviously, with the way the group is going, you need at least four points to get through now and it’s going to need two big performances and a big push from everyone,” Ten Doeschate said.
India’s fragile batting was exposed against an in-form bowling attack led by left-arm quick Marco Jansen, who returned 4-22 from 3.5 overs. Keshav Maharaj took 3-24 with his left-arm spin.
India’s media tore into the team on Monday morning.
“The night the cloak came off,” read one headline Indian Express newspaper.
“Sloppy India reaches point of no return,” it said Hindustan Times.
India’s ultra-aggressive left-handed opening pair have failed to fire, leaving a shaky middle order to pick up the pieces.
Ishan Kishan was out for Markram on Sunday, while the world’s top-ranked T20 player Abhishek Sharma fell to Jansen for 15, his only run of the tournament so far after three ducks.
“It’s definitely not panic stations,” said Ten Doeschate, who suggested there could be discussions about India’s batting line-up.
“If those guys (Ahbishek and Ishan) bat in six overs, the score will be 70-plus,” Ten Doeschate said.
“So can we get them to temper the way they play and be a little bit smarter?
“Or do we just let them continue as they are?
“Or do we bring in a right-hander at the top and make a change somewhere in the middle?”
Captain Suryakumar Yadav agreed that India need to use their brains in the first six over the powerplay when only two fielders are allowed on the boundary.
“If you’re chasing 180-185, you can’t win the game in the powerplay, but you can lose it,” he said after his team stumbled to 31-3 after six overs, which became 43-4 a few balls later and then 51-5.
“We lost too many wickets in the powerplay.”
The 2024 champions also have the weight of history against them. No team has ever retained the T20 World Cup and no team has ever won the trophy at home.
