Mullanpur, India – India faced a heavy defeat against South Africa in the second T20 International at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, with the visitors leveling the series 1-1. After the match, India's captain, Suryakumar Yadav, took responsibility for the loss, pointing to the batting unit's failure, including his own and Shubman Gill's early dismissals.
South Africa outclassed India by 51 runs, a defeat that saw India's top order collapse while chasing a target of 214. Gill was dismissed for a golden duck, while Suryakumar Yadav departed soon after, leaving the team reeling at 32/3. Only Tilak Varma offered some resistance with aclassy 62 off 34 balls, but it wasn't enough to save the day as the rest of the batting order crumbled under pressure. India were eventually bowled out for 162 in 19.1 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav admitted that the team's over-reliance on Abhishek Sharma to provide a fast start had been a costly strategy. "I think myself, Shubman, we could have given a good start because we can't rely on Abhishek all the time," Suryakumar said during the post-match presentation. "The way he's been batting, he might have an off-day. Me, Shubman and few other batters should have taken it. I think it would have been a smart chase".
He further added, "But then it's okay, Shubman got out on the first ball. But yeah, I should have taken that responsibility, batted a little deeper". Suryakumar Yadav scored 5 off 6 balls before he was caught behind.
The decision to promote Axar Patel to No. 3 after Gill's dismissal also came under scrutiny. Suryakumar Yadav explained that the move was aimed at replicating Axar's success in longer formats, but it didn't pan out as planned. "We just thought in the last game, we have seen Axar bat really well in the longer format. And we wanted him to bat back the same way today as well", he said. Axar Patel scored 21 runs off 21 balls.
Earlier in the match, Quinton de Kock's explosive 90 off 46 balls powered South Africa to 213/4 after India won the toss and opted to bowl. South Africa made their intentions clear from the beginning, with de Kock smashing seven sixes and five fours. Cameos from Donovan Ferreira (30 off 16) and David Miller (20 off 12) further boosted the South African total.
India's bowling performance was also below par, with Arshdeep Singh having a particularly tough night, including bowling seven wides in a single over.
Ottneil Baartman was the pick of the South African bowlers, taking 4 wickets for 24 runs. Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen supported him well, taking two wickets each to ensure South Africa's victory.
With the series now level at 1-1, Suryakumar Yadav emphasized the importance of learning from the defeat. "We should have had a second plan, but we didn't go to that. But it's okay. As I said, it's a learning process. We learned how they bowled in the second innings. We learned from that and then we try and execute in the next game," he stated.
The third T20I is scheduled to be held in Dharamsala on December 14.
