India captain Suryakumar Yadav is disappointed after being out. Photo: PTI.
India must win their remaining two matches , advance to the semi-finals , after India’s crushing defeat to South Africa in the first match of the World Cup Super – 8 in Ahmedabad has reduced India’s chances of reaching the semi-finals.
Despite what India skipper Suryakumar Yadav claims, the team’s prospects of making it to the semi-finals of this year’s T20 World Cup have diminished with two games left. South Africa defeated India in the opening World Cup Super eight match. Not only did Suryakumar lose, but he was humiliated by 76 runs. India now has little chance of making it straight to the semi-finals after this loss. India must win , Even if Suryakumar wins the next two group games, they will still need to consider other games.
Following the game on Sunday, South Africa leads Group X. They have two points. +3.800 is the net run rate. At the bottom is India. They have a -3.800 net run rate. Zimbabwe and the West Indies have yet to compete in the Super Eights.
India must win, still has two games left against the West Indies and Zimbabwe. The Suns will play the West Indies at Eden Gardens on March 1 and Zimbabwe in Chennai on February 26. India will have four points if they win these two games.
Three teams, however, have a chance to score four points. India will need to hope that South Africa prevails in the final two games. Then they will have 6 points. In such scenario, India will advance to the semifinals with 4 points if they win the final two games. Because West Indies or Zimbabwe will only receive two points if this threshold is reached.
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India must win , All three teams will still have an opportunity to achieve four points, though, if India wins their next two games and South Africa loses to either Zimbabwe or the West Indies. Under such circumstances, the two teams that make it to the semi-finals will be determined by their net run rate. India’s loss of 76 runs has severely hurt their net run rate. India will therefore need to win their next two games by a significant amount. They will also need to hope that, even if South Africa loses, the margin won’t be too big.
However, all of this is only a question of time. The Suns would have very little chance of making it to the semi-finals if they lose their next two games, therefore India must win them first.
In the ICC competitions, India went 826 days without losing.
(Left) Rohit Sharma after losing the 2023 ODI World Cup final. Suryakumar Yadav (right) after losing to South Africa on Sunday. —File photo.
India was undefeated in ICC tournaments for 826 days between November 19, 2023, and February 22, 2026. They broke that record on Sunday when they lost to South Africa, which also happened to be the ground where India last suffered a defeat in ICC games.
In 2023, the One Day World Cup took place in India. From the group stage to the semi-finals, Rohit Sharma’s India won ten straight games. Everyone believed that India will win the global championship domestically once more. However, on November 19, India lost to Australia in the World Cup final at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
India has dominated the ICC tournament since that ambition was dashed. Rohit won each of his eight games in the 2024 T20 World Cup. He won the title of world champion. Following that, India won five of the five Champions Trophy games in 2025. India under Rohit emerged victorious in that championship as well.
The T20 World Cup took place in India this time. In the group stage, Suryakumar Yadavera prevailed in each of the four games. In other words, India won 17 straight games in the ICC competition and 12 straight in the T20 World Cup. However, they had to lose again in Ahmedabad on the same field after 826 days.
India has the global record for consecutive victories in ICC competitions, despite the winning streak. During 2023–2026, no other team has won 17 straight games. Second, third, and fourth place go to Australia. They won 13 straight games between 2002 and 2004, 14 straight games between 2023 and 2024, and 15 straight games between 2006 and 2007.
In the T20 World Cup, India also holds the record for the most straight victories. Since falling in the 2022 World Cup semifinals, they have won 12 straight games as of Sunday. South Africa and Australia share second place. In the T20 World Cup, they have won eight straight games.