Cricket News

T20 World Cup 2026: India vs South Africa, Match 43 – Who Said What?

Published

3 months ago

February 23, 2026

India lost to South Africa by 76 runs in their first game in the Super 8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, February 22.

Aiden Markram won the toss and opted to bat first, noting that the pitch seemed great for batting. Suryakumar Yadav also said that he would have batted first had he won the toss. However, it was India who dominated proceedings in the early goings of the clash.

Jasprit Bumrah got the better of Quinton de Kock in the second over, and Arshdeep Singh dismissed Aidne Markram in the over that followed. Bumrah wasn’t in the mood to relent on the pressure he had created upfront, and he dismissed Ryan Rickelton in his second over.

South Africa were staring down the barrel at 20/3, but David Miller and Dewald Brevis brought them back into the contest with a stunning 97-run partnership off 50 balls. Miller was the more aggressive batter in the stand as he counter-attacked with flair. Brevis took his time to get his eye in and hit some lusty blows later.

Shivam Dube broke the dangerous partnership, as he dismissed Brevis for 45 off 29 balls. Miller, however, continued his dominance and was eventually dismissed in the 16th over after smashing 63 off 35 deliveries.

However, India kept picking crucial wickets at the back end of the innings, even as Tristan Stubbs held fort. The South African batter smashed Hardik Pandya for 20 runs in the last over to take his team to a decent 187/7 in 20 overs.

Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers for India, as he finished with mind-boggling figures of 3/15 in his four overs. Fellow pacer Arshdeep Singh also bagged two wickets.

In reply, Markram started proceedings with three dot balls to Ishan Kishan, and the pressure forced the in-form batter to go for a wild slog. The ball went high up in the air and was safely pouched by Rickelton, who had to backtrack a bit from cover to take the catch.

Marco Jansen was brought on to bowl the second over, and he hit the ground running, dismissing Tilak Varma off the very first ball he bowled. Abhishek Sharma got a start but was dismissed by Corbin Bosch’s brilliance on the field.

Suryakumar Yadav and Washington Sundar tried to steady the ship, but the required run rate kept climbing. Eventually, both batters succumbed to the pressure. In the end, India were bowled out for 11 in 18.5 overs. Dube top-scored with a 37-ball 42. Jansen and Maharaj were the stars with the ball for the Proteas. They bagged four and three wickets, respectively.

Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya forged a 35-run partnership off 30 balls but South Africa had things well under control. Once Hardik was out in the 15th over, the writing was on the wall.

Who Said What?

David Miller, Player of the match

Just about making sure you stick to your strengths and don’t go into your shell. During the powerplay, all fielders were in the ring so thought of going over. Trying to get a partnership as much as we could, and trying to rotate strike. (Main scoring areas) With the nature of this ground, you want to look straight. Smaller there than square. Want to shape up to hit straight and then react. Looking to be nice and aggressive against the spinners. They have world-class bowlers. Have played against them a lot, trying to put them under pressure and about putting yourself in the position to do that.

Suryakumar Yadav, India (Losing captain)

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. 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. We learn from it, we’ll sit back and then come back stronger. 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. Hopefully bat well, bowl well and field well (Talking about the plans for the next game vs Zimbabwe). That’s it. We’ll try and keep it simple, play the same brand of cricket which we want to play and nothing changes. I think we’ll come back strong.

Aiden Markram, South Africa (Winning captain)

Great performance. Very different type of wicket to what we’ve had here, so great to see the boys assess that pretty early and adapt their skills to execute their plans. We’re really pumped for the bowling group. They’ve been working hard, started the comp a bit tough, but the way they rocked up tonight was a great effort. I think first and foremost was the partnership. (Miller and Brevis) The guys were great, put that together for us, steadied the ship and kept us in the game. Conversations towards the back end were that the ball was travelling tonight, felt almost a bit spongy, so it was about finding space where we could run hard, drop the ego and take as much as we could at the back end. They bowled well up front and at the death as well, but I thought our batting through the middle was probably the difference. Good effort in the field. We put two down but not for lack of effort. Against UAE we probably weren’t as connected as we’d like, but that presence and connectedness was much better today. We’re going to make mistakes, we don’t mind that as a group, so we’ll brush those aside. We feel like Lungi is a threat whenever he bowls and that he can take wickets for us in that middle phase. It depends on conditions – if we don’t feel like it will do much with the new ball, we’d rather hold him back, but if there’s something in it he gets something out of the wicket. We’ll assess it on game days and give him that role. He’s happy to do anything, a proper team man, and he just keeps delivering. I think it’s the same for both teams having played each other recently (Talking about their next game vs West Indies). They’re a dangerous T20 side playing good cricket, so we’ll enjoy this tonight, park it, and get our minds sharp for that West Indies clash. It’s a big game for us and we don’t want to take confidence or good vibes for granted. Important to rock up on the 28th and take it on full steam ahead.

Cricket News

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a special talent, should not change anything: Virat Kohli's childhood coach

Published

22 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Logan Mclaughlin

Rajkumar Sharma, who was Virat Kohli’s coach during his childhood days, called Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a special cricketer and explained what makes him stand out from other players of his age.

Sooryavanshi took the cricket fraternity by storm during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, as he finished with a whopping 776 runs in 16 innings at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 237.31. He won the Orange Cap and also became the Most Valuable Player (MVP).

“Well, he is an exceptional talent undoubtedly. I mean, the way he has played in this IPL is remarkable. The way he has hit all the first-class, international and world-class bowlers, that is commendable and I must say that he is a special talent. I really find Vaibhav very good. The type of fearless cricket he plays and the way he has hit world-class bowlers is commendable. The way he has hit those sixes is just unbelievable, for T20 cricket, he is just brilliant,” Sharma was quoted as saying by India Today.

Sharma said that Sooryavanshi shouldn’t change his game while playing T20 cricket as everything is working well for him. However, he refused to comment on the 15-year-old’s future in Test cricket as he hasn’t seen much of him till now.

“Since he is playing T20, I would say don’t change anything. Just go and play like this, the way you are playing. You are playing tremendous cricket and the way you are hitting, keep on hitting the ball and entertaining the people. When it comes to playing Test cricket, I haven’t seen enough of him to judge how mature he is, how he can change his game, how he can leave the ball outside the off stump or how he can play swing bowling. But for now, I want him to continue the way he is playing,” Sharma stated.

Sharma, however, urged caution when it came to comparisons with Kohli, who he has seen from close quarters since the legendary batter’s childhood days.

“I don’t believe in comparing people. What Virat has done in the last 18 years, I mean it’s a very long period that he has been so consistent. But looking at Vaibhav, he looks very good, a very talented guy and he has got good temperament also, which he showed in the last game. So, I mean he is a brilliant talent undoubtedly, but we have just seen him playing in this format only. We are yet to see him play in bigger formats, maybe Test cricket or One-Day cricket,” Sharma explained.

“Virat is a different player (from Sooryavanshi). He is a legend now. He is a great player, which he has proved by winning so many matches. No Indian has won as many matches for India as Virat has, and that is why he is loved so much. Here we see a rising star (Sooryavanshi) and we really love to see him grow,” he added.

Sharma also mentioned that Sooryavanshi’s fitness should not be viewed as a concern and he will only get better as his career progresses.

“No, fitness will come. He is still a baby and he has got superpower. That is the brilliant thing about him,” Sharma said.

Cricket News

Reports: Suryakumar Yadav stripped of T20I captaincy, to lose place in team as well

Published

22 hours ago

June 4, 2026

Kenny Malone

Suryakumar Yadav has been reportedly sacked from his role as India’s T20I captain. If the report is true, this could be a significant development, as the 35-year-old had led India to the T20 World Cup title just before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.

According to The Indian Express, Suryakumar has been stripped of captaincy and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), in consultation with the team management and selection committee, will appoint a new captain for the next cycle. The report also mentions that Suryakumar will be losing his place in the side after struggling with the bat since last year.

“The selection committee, BCCI and team management, in consultation with coach Gautam Gambhir, have decided that India should go with a new skipper from here on. Under Surya’s captaincy, the team did win the T20 World Cup but keeping his form and future in mind, they felt it’s time to move on. He won’t be considered for selection, and the decision will be conveyed to Surya soon,” a top BCCI official told the aforementioned news portal.

India’s upcoming assignment in the shortest format is a two-match T20I series against Ireland. This will be followed by five T20Is against the Three Lions in England.

Who could replace Suryakumar?

Suryakumar could be succeeded by Shreyas Iyer, who is the frontrunner for the captain’s role. However, Tilak Varma has also emerged as a strong contender after his impressive performances for India during the Asia Cup last year and the T20 World Cup this year.

It is intriguing to note that Shreyas hasn’t represented India in T20I cricket since December 2023. However, he has impressed fans as well as critics with his captaincy skills, especially in the last three seasons of the IPL.

Axar Patel, who was the vice-captain of the Indian team during the T20 World Cup, didn’t have a great stint as the skipper of the Delhi Capitals. It seems unlikely that he would be promoted to the captain’s role in the Indian team.

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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had an influence on games that went beyond the runs he scored: Sachin Tendulkar

Published

2 days ago

June 3, 2026

Bryce Mullins

Sachin Tendulkar and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has become a household name now with his exemplary performances with the bat during the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The Bihar batter turned 15 years old one day before the start of the tournament and celebrated it by smashing bowlers all over the park over the next few weeks.

Sooryavanshi eventually finished the campaign with a staggering 776 runs in 16 matches at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 237.31. In the Eliminator, he smashed 97 off 29 balls and followed it up with a 47-ball 96 in Qualifier 2. The southpaw earned rich praise from the legendary Sachin Tendulkar after his heroics during the season.

The Master Blaster said that Sooryavanshi managed to have an influence on matches that extended beyond the runs he scored. Tendulkar opined that opposition teams were planning to get him out and fans were waiting for him to go berserk with his scintillating range of ball striking.

“Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had an influence on games that went beyond the runs he scored. Oppositions were thinking about him, teams were planning for him, and fans were waiting for him long before he arrived at the crease,” Tendulkar wrote in a Reddit post.

“His ability to score rapidly in both the Eliminator and the Qualifier showed that his intent remained unchanged, even as the pressure increased. More importantly, his batting seemed to give Rajasthan Royals an added sense of belief every time he walked out to the middle,” the highest run-scorer in international cricket added.

Sooryavanshi broke Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes in a single season of the IPL. The Caribbean legend had hit 59 sixes in IPL 2012. However, Sooryavanshi better that record convincingly, belting a staggering 72 sixes. The Tajpur-born won the Orange Cap, MVP (Most Valuable Player) award, Emerging Player of the Season, Super Striker of the Season, and Super Sixes of the Season.