Riding on David Miller's 63 off 35 balls and Dewald Brevis\u2019 45, South Africa recovered from 20\/3 to post 187\/7 before bundling India out for 111 in 18.5 overs in front of 90,954 fans. Marco Jansen's 4-22 and Keshav Maharaj\u2019s 3-24 dismantled India\u2019s chase, which never gathered momentum after slipping to 51\/5 inside 10 overs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Reflecting on the game, Gavaskar underlined how Miller and Brevis rebuilt the innings on a sluggish black soil pitch where the ball held up and stroke-making was far from straightforward.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIf you look at the way Dewald Brevis and David Miller rebuilt the South African innings, they played a lot more shots in the \u2018V\u2019, especially when the short ball was used. They adjusted really well. They realised the ball wasn\u2019t coming onto the bat as quickly as expected \u2014 it was holding up slightly in the surface. Having seen how they constructed their innings and built that partnership, that was the kind of approach that was needed, rather than simply throwing the bat at just about everything,\u201d Gavaskar said while speaking on Star Sports after the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His remarks came in the backdrop of India\u2019s hurried batting display, where several top-order batters perished attempting expansive strokes instead of consolidating after early setbacks. Ishan Kishan fell to a wild slog, Tilak Varma was undone by extra bounce, and Abhishek Sharma\u2019s brief counterattack ended via a top edge, as South Africa\u2019s bowlers exploited conditions smartly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIf you look at the way Dewald Brevis and David Miller rebuilt the South African innings, they played a lot more shots in the \u2018V\u2019, especially when the short ball was used. They adjusted really well. They realised the ball wasn\u2019t coming onto the bat as quickly as expected \u2014 it was holding up slightly in the surface. Having seen how they constructed their innings and built that partnership, that was the kind of approach that was needed, rather than simply throwing the bat at just about everything,\u201d Gavaskar said while speaking on Star Sports after the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The defeat ended India's 12-match winning streak in T20 World Cups and marked their first loss in an ICC World Cup game since the 2023 ODI World Cup final at the same venue. With their net run rate dipping to -3.8, the defending champions now face a must-win situation in their remaining Super Eights fixtures against the West Indies and Zimbabwe to keep semi-final hopes alive.<\/p>\r\n\r\n