WATCH | 'Planned Acha Nahi Kiya': Ex-Pakistan Pacer Shoaib Akhtar's Contradicting Take After India's Loss vs South Africa

India vs South Africa: Favourites Team India faced their first loss in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 and it came against South Africa in their opening Super 8 game on Sunday. South Africa beat India convincingly by 76 runs and now former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar has reacted to the loss. Akhtar gives a confusing reason behind the loss. While on one hand he claims that India did not plan well for the game, he also contradicts himself by claiming that captain Suryakumar Yadav did a good job. The question is - If the planning wasn’t good, how can the captaincy be good? Good captaincy always comes from good planning.

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Meanwhile, South Africa beat India by 76 runs. David Miller was the star of the show for the Proteas as he hit a brilliant 63 off 35 balls to help them get to a challenging 187 for seven. The Indian top-order failed to get going inside the powerplay and that meant the hosts were always chasing the game. The fight seemed to be missing and all credit to South Africa for coming well-planned and then executing the plans well. The loss surely dents India's chances of making the semis. 

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There is no doubt that they have the potential to win their next two games and win them convincingly. The next week is going to test Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav's ability to get things back on track. Team India will take on Zimbabwe in their next Super 8 game on February 26.