Every hot streak sadly has to come to an end. Defending champions India found themselves outplayed by a strategic South Africa, who handed them a 76-run defeat on Sunday in Ahmedabad.

Winning the toss and batting first, the Proteas posted a competitive 187/7 on the back of David Miller’s 35-ball 63, Dewald Brevis (45) and Tristan Stubbs (44*). Jasprit Bumrah stood out with the ball (3/15) and scripted his own moment in the record books - the Indian with the most T20 Cup wickets.

South Africa, on their part, pulled the stops on the Indian fightback at regular intervals courtesy of Marco Jansen (4/22). The left-armer was supported by Keshav Maharaj (3/24) and Corbin Bosch (2/12) as they limited SKY’s Men in Blue to a score of 111 with seven balls to spare.

Here is how the first Super 8 contest turned out.

Boom! A fiery start in the power play

Jasprit Bumrah and opening overs in T20I = a relationship with 💯pyaar. BOOM BOOM struck twice in his opening two overs to dismiss left-handed duo Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton. And boy! It was two special deliveries for those prized wickets.

Wicket 1: Back of a length that slips under QdK’s attempt for a wild mow and nicks the leg stump down. Bole toh CLASSIC! 

Wicket 2: A slower ball, something rare from Bumrah, pops off the leading edge of a confused Ryan Rickelton. It lands safely in the hands of Shivam Dube at mid off.

SA fight back but face Dube-Chakravarthy speedbreakers

David Miller stitched a 97-run partnership with Dewald Brewis (45) to resuscitate the Proteas’ innings from 20/3 to 117/4 on a surface that has traditionally been a batting paradise. But DB miscued a Shivam Dube delivery and tossed it towards Abhishek Sharma at deep mid wicket.

Miller continued the fightback, reaching his ninth T20I fifty (63) in 35 balls before he succumbed to a temptation to go big on from Varun Chakravarthy’s delivery. TV Tilak caught it at long off and brought up a big wave of relief to the Indian fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

188: A record target to take down

Tristan Stubbs, with his unbeaten 44, guided South Africa to 187/7 in their 20 overs. The 188-run target seemed like an opportunity for India to rewrite history, possibly.

Towards the end of the first half of this contest, BOOM BOOM Bumrah added another record-breaking feather to his cap: Most wickets by an Indian in T20 Cup history (33).

𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐘 👑

Bumrah now has most wickets (33*) in T20 World Cup history for India 🎯💙 pic.twitter.com/AiU7VbH0Xn

— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) February 22, 2026

India stutters in the power play

The Men in Blue were chasing for the first time in the T20 Cup 2026, but found themselves on the backfoot 😞. The top order of Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma, and Tilak Varma was dismissed in the first five overs, a rare and troubling sight for the defending champions.

Dube, the last man standing

With the odds seemingly favoring the visitors, Shivam Dube stepped up to keep alive the hopes of a possible turnaround 🤞. His 42-run knock got India past the 100-run mark after they were hit by Keshav Maharaj’s triple-strike in the 15th over.

This 76-run loss ends the Men in Blue’s 18-game unbeaten run in ICC events across formats since 2023 and the first in a multi-nation T20I tournament since 2022. For the Proteas, it was a win to avenge their heartbreak in the 2024 final.

However, India will look to move on immediately from today’s result when they take on Zimbabwe on Thursday (February 26).

Brief scores: South Africa 187/7 (David Miller 63, Tristan Stubbs 44*; Jasprit Bumrah 3/15) BEAT India 111 (Shivam Dube 42; Marco Jansen 4/22)