India Come A Cropper Against South Africa
South Africa's David Miller plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and South Africa in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. - AP
South Africa reaches 111/3 at the end of the 12th over. After that disastrous Powerplay, this has been a phenomenal recovery.
Earlier, Jasprit Bumrah struck twice in successive overs, while Arshdeep Singh chipped in with a wicket as India reduced South Africa to 31 for three after five overs in their Super Eights clash here on Sunday.India lost the toss and were asked to bowl.
Bumrah provided the first breakthrough, cleaning up Quinton de Kock (6) with a delivery that nipped back. After being hit for a boundary off a full toss, the lead India pacer responded with a back-of-a-length ball outside off that jagged back sharply as De Kock swung across the line and lost his leg bail.
In the next over, Arshdeep dismissed skipper Aiden Markram (4). Bowling a hard length just outside off, he extracted slight hold from the surface, forcing Markram into a mis-timed lofted stroke that was safely taken by Hardik Pandya at mid-off.
Bumrah then struck again, deceiving Ryan Rickelton (7) with a slower ball after the batter had earlier struck Arshdeep for a six.
Opting to bat, last edition's finalists South Africa began cautiously, scoring just four runs in the opening over before India's pacers tightened the screws. PTI