T20 World Cup 2022: 2 mistakes and 1 masterstroke by India in their Super 12 clash against South Africa

Team India were toppled from the top spot in the Group 2 standings of the 2022 T20 World Cup Super 12 stage as South Africa vanquished them by five wickets in Perth on Sunday, October 30.

India turned in a sloppy performance overall against an unbeaten opposition. They were reduced to 49/5 within nine overs and needed a stellar 68 from Suryakumar Yadav to take them to a defendable score. 133 didn't prove to be enough, though, as Aiden Markram and David Miller hit fifties to take the Proteas home with two balls to spare.

Here are two mistakes and one masterstroke by India in their T20 World Cup clash against South Africa.

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#3 Mistake - Fielding

India v South Africa - ICC Men's T20 World Cup

India's fielding was frankly horrific in Perth. They started well, with KL Rahul snaffling a sharp chance at second slip to send back Quinton de Kock and Dinesh Karthik making a diving grab to dismiss Temba Bavuma. But things went pear-shaped over the remainder of the innings.

Virat Kohli dropped a sitter at deep midwicket to hand Markram a reprieve when the batter was on 35. Rohit Sharma missed two run-out opportunities, the second being easier to miss than hit, to add to the South African batter's luck. Another high ball fell between Kohli and Hardik Pandya in the deep, with neither fielder going for the catch.

India's ground fielding wasn't particularly impressive, either. Rohit was quick to acknowledge his side's lax fielding display, which was one of the biggest reasons behind their loss, in the post-match press conference.

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#2 Masterstroke - Powerplay bowling plans

India v South Africa - ICC Men's T20 World Cup

India's top-order batters were harried by the pace and bounce of the South African quicks. Lungi Ngidi dismissed Rohit, Kohli and Hardik Pandya with well-directed bouncers, while KL Rahul nicked a back-of-a-length delivery to first slip. Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada were dangerous throughout their respective spells as well.

India, knowing that their bowling attack didn't have the same zip and speed, altered their plans superbly. With the new ball, Arshdeep Singh and Bhuvneshwar Kumar looked to pitch the ball up and swing it both ways to ask questions of the Protea batters. The strategy yielded dividends as Arshdeep scalped Quinton de Kock and Rilee Rossouw, with Bavuma too falling within the powerplay.

It would've been easy for India to get carried away and hit hard lengths at the Optus Stadium, but they stuck to their guns and turned in an excellent powerplay bowling display.

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#1 Mistake - Poor shot selection throughout the innings

India v South Africa - ICC Men's T20 World Cup

In the first innings, several Team India batters played poor shots to get out. Rohit can be excused to a certain extent, since the pressure heaped on him by his opening partner forced him into playing the shot that brought about his downfall. But the others didn't show much application.

Rahul once again fell victim to a tentative prod, while Kohli and Hardik were out playing rash pull shots. Deepak Hooda, playing his first T20 World Cup game, thought it prudent to throw his hands against a wide one from Nortje. Dinesh Karthik, who played 15 balls for his six runs, attempted a wild hoick off the first ball of the 16th over to walk back.

Yes, the Perth surface was challenging and South Africa bowled aggressive lengths, but India could've handled the onslaught in much better fashion. Shot selection was a major letdown on Sunday.