NEW DELHI: India’s 51-run loss to South Africa in the second T20I in Mullanpur on Thursday has triggered a fresh wave of scrutiny, with questions directed at the form of Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav and the team’s bowling discipline. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan summed up the growing concern on social media, writing on X: “Shubman Gill & Suryakumar’s form? Thirteen full tosses today while bowling. How to negate that? These are the questions Team India needs to answer going forward. Hopefully they answer them with positive impact.”
Both Gill and Suryakumar endured another disappointing outing on what was a true batting pitch. South Africa, powered by a sensational 90 off 46 balls from Quinton de Kock, posted a commanding 213/4 after being put in to bat. India’s chase fizzled out early as the top order crumbled in the powerplay, with the hosts losing Abhishek Sharma (17), Gill (0) and Suryakumar (5) inside the first five overs.The local crowd had hoped to see their home stars flourish, but Gill’s struggles in T20Is deepened when he edged a superb away-seamer from Lungi Ngidi first ball. Abhishek fell in the next over, caught behind off Marco Jansen, and Suryakumar followed soon after, nicking another Jansen delivery angled across him. Axar Patel (21 off 21), promoted to No. 3, also departed cheaply as the pressure mounted.Only Tilak Varma stood tall, producing a fluent 62 off 34, but with wickets tumbling and the required rate surging, India were bowled out for 162 in 19.1 overs, allowing South Africa to level the five-match series 1-1 ahead of the Dharamsala clash on December 14.Earlier, De Kock’s brutal hitting, including seven sixes, many over deep square leg, dismantled India’s attack. Arshdeep Singh endured a nightmare 11th over, leaking 18 runs including seven wides, while Jasprit Bumrah was taken apart in the final over by Donovan Ferreira (30 not out off 16). India conceded 123 runs in the last 10 overs, a collapse in discipline that will concern Gautam Gambhir’s management as they search for answers before the next game.
