India Suffers Biggest Home T20 Defeat, Lose to South Africa by 51 Runs

New Chandigarh: India endured a crushing 51-run defeat against South Africa in the second T20 International of the series, marking the largest margin of defeat at home in T20 Internationals. Chasing a target of 214 runs set by South Africa, India could manage only 162 all out, falling short on the first ball of the final over.

Record Loss at Home
This was India’s 96th T20 International at home, and in the previous 95 matches, the team had never lost by 50 or more runs. South Africa had previously inflicted India’s biggest home T20 defeat in 2022 at Indore, winning by 49 runs. Overall, India has now lost by 50+ runs only twice in T20 Internationals, the other being an 80-run loss to New Zealand in Wellington in 2019. Other significant home defeats include:

• 49 runs vs South Africa, Indore (2022)
• 47 runs vs New Zealand, Nagpur (2016)
• 40 runs vs New Zealand, Rajkot (2017)
• 29 runs vs Sri Lanka, Nagpur (2009)

Batting Struggles
India’s batting line-up struggled throughout the chase, with Tilak Varma being the lone performer, scoring 62 runs off 34 balls. After a strong start, he could add only 5 more runs in the final overs before being dismissed as the last wicket. Jitesh Sharma contributed 27 off 17 balls, while Hardik Pandya scored 20 off 23 balls, and Axar Patel made 21 off 21 balls, with others failing to make a meaningful impact.

The defeat highlighted both tactical missteps and inconsistency in India’s batting, raising concerns ahead of the remaining T20 matches in the series.