Fri Dec 12 00:30:00 UTC 2025: News Article:
India Crumbles Against South Africa in 2nd T20, Yadav Blames Bowling Choice
DURBAN, Dec 12, 2025 – Team India suffered a heavy 51-run defeat against South Africa in the second T20 international held here today. Both batting and bowling proved inadequate as the Proteas dominated the match.
After winning the toss, India opted to bowl first, a decision that Captain Suryakumar Yadav later admitted was a mistake. Quinton de Kock’s explosive 90 propelled South Africa to a formidable 213/4. In response, the Indian batting lineup faltered, unable to chase down the target.
“Winning the toss and choosing to bowl was where we went wrong,” Yadav conceded after the match. “However, we recovered well, and the decision gave South Africa a solid read for their bowling attack. Ultimately, this is a learning process, and we’ll treat this loss as a lesson. We need to correct our mistakes and move forward. There was a bit of dew as well. Our first plan failed, and we couldn’t execute the second one. We learned a lot from South Africa’s bowling performance today.”
Yadav emphasized the need for improvement among the top-order batsmen. “Shubman Gill and I need to step up and provide a better start for the team,” he stated. “We can’t always rely on Abhishek Sharma. The batters need to take responsibility and bat more smartly. Shubman got out on the first ball, and I should have stayed at the crease longer. This was a key reason for our defeat. We’ll rectify these errors and aim for a better performance in the next match.”
He also expressed disappointment that Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya couldn’t replicate their performance from the previous game. India will look to bounce back in the final T20 to salvage the series.
First Piper 