India battle for World Cup survival after 'messing up on grand scale'

Defending T20 World Cup champions India need “two big performances” to reach the semi-finals after Sunday’s huge defeat to South Africa, said their assistant coach.

India came into the T20 World Cup as hot favourites on home soil 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 Africa bowling.

India collapsed to 111 all out in 18.5 overs in response to South Africa’s 187-7 as their 12-match win streak in the T20 World Cup came to a crashing end.

The magnitude of the defeat has left India with a desperate net run-rate of -3.8 and likely needing to win their last two Super Eight matches convincingly to make it to the semi-finals.

Anything less and India will need to rely on a combination of other results going their way.

“Very disappointed in the performance,” said Ryan ten Doeschate.

“When you set out to win a World Cup, don’t expect someone to come and deliver it to you halfway through,” the assistant coach added.

“We’ve messed up on a grand scale and now the onus is on this group of guys to turn it around and put in two solid performances.”

India are grouped with South Africa, the West Indies and Zimbabwe in 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 giant-killers Zimbabwe, who have already beaten Australia and Sri Lanka, on Thursday in Chennai.

South Africa play the West Indies the same day in Ahmedabad where Aiden Markram’s side could put one foot firmly in the semi-finals with another win.

‘Cloak came off’ 

“Obviously with the way the group goes, you need at least four points to get through now, and it’s going to need two big performances and a big bounce back from everyone,” said Ten Doeschate.

India’s fragile batting was exposed against an in-form bowling attack led by left-arm quick Marco Jansen, who returned figures of 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,” blazed a headline in the Indian Express newspaper.

“Sloppy India reach point of no return,” said the 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 without scoring to Markram on Sunday, while the world’s top- ranked T20 batter Abhishek Sharma fell to Jansen for 15, his only runs of the tournament so far after three ducks.

“It’s certainly not panic stations,” said Ten Doeschate, who hinted there could be discussions about India’s batting line-up.

“If those guys (Ahbishek and Ishan) bat for six overs, the score is going to be 70-plus,” said Ten Doeschate.

“So can we get them to temper the way they’re playing and be a little bit smarter?

“Or do we just let them go on the way 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 India need to use their brains in the first six-over power play when only two fielders are allowed on the boundary.

“Chasing 180-185, you can’t win the game in the power play, but you might lose it,” he said after his side 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 power play.”

The 2024 champions also have the weight of history against them. No team has ever retained the T20 World Cup and no side have ever won the trophy on home soil.