Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The Indian men’s cricket team arrived in Chennai on Monday ahead of their second Super 8s clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 against Zimbabwe, to be played on February 26 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Led by Suryakumar Yadav, India are looking to bounce back after a crushing 76-run defeat to South Africa in their opening Super 8 fixture at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The loss ended India’s 18-match unbeaten run in ICC white-ball tournaments since their defeat in the 2023 World Cup final against Australia at the same venue. It was also India’s second-biggest loss by runs in T20 Internationals, behind the 80-run defeat to New Zealand in Wellington in 2019, and their heaviest defeat in T20 World Cup history.In the match against South Africa, the Proteas posted 187/7 after a 97-run fourth-wicket partnership between David Miller (63) and Dewald Brevis (45) steadied the innings. Tristan Stubbs added late impetus with an unbeaten 44.For India, Jasprit Bumrah (3/15) and Arshdeep Singh (2/28) were the standout bowlers, while Varun Chakaravarthy and Shivam Dube chipped in with a wicket each.Chasing 188, India never gained momentum. Shivam Dube top-scored with 42, but no batter managed a half-century as the defending champions were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs. Marco Jansen (4/22), Keshav Maharaj (3/24), Corbin Bosch (2/12) and captain Aiden Markram (1/5) starred with the ball to seal a comprehensive win.The heavy defeat has dented India’s Net Run Rate, which now stands at -3.800. To stay in the race for a semifinal berth, India must win their remaining Super 8 Group 1 matches and significantly improve their NRR to avoid depending on other results.
