Published: December 12, 2025 at 8:03 am
After the high of Cuttack, India sunk to the bottom at Chandigarh as they were spanked by South Africa in a 51-run loss on Thursday night. The visitors bounced back in style to level the five-match series 1-1. Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan said that the Indians had to be concerned about the form of top batters like Shubman Gill and skipper Suryakumar Yadav.
“Shubman Gill will say he got a very good ball and looked stuck at the crease. For captain Suryakumar Yadav, I felt he needs to focus on his offside play. He was completely out of position when he got out. About Gill’s dismissal, the ball from Lungi Ngidi was top quality. The angle he bowled from was excellent. But if Gill was in form, he would have played that ball easily. He is not in form. Ngidi has bowled only three overs to him so far in the powerplay in this series and got him out twice, giving just four runs. He is putting a lot of pressure on Gill with the new ball,” Pathan said on JioHotstar.
“The runs not coming from Gill’s bat is a bad sign and increases the pressure on him and the team management. They will be asking what to do. This situation should not get worse. If the runs still don’t come, you can’t just bring Sanju Samson back and expect him to perform, if he is also rusty. There are many questions. If they go back to Samson, it becomes very important for him to score runs,” he added.
Pressure on SKY
Pathan said there was bound to be pressure on Suryakumar as he is the captain of the team. “Surya will be under pressure because he’s the captain and as a captain, your slot in the playing 11 is secured automatically. As a player, if you haven’t scored runs in a year, you are under pressure. His form has to come back before the World Cup. He needs the right batting position and better shot selection. Surya has shown a pattern of playing straight balls to the leg side and getting out. When you’re not scoring, you should try to play in the off-side and in front. He has the skill to bring the ball in front of his eyes and use the pace, that’s how he will start scoring again,” the former pacer said.
Pathan said that there were a few areas of concern for the home side and then the form of Quinton de Kock and the South African bowlers was just adding to India’s woes. “At the toss, we said it would not be bad for South Africa to bat first. Because they were chasing in the first match and here in New Chandigarh, they batted first which meant you do not have the scoreboard pressure and you can bat freely. Quinton de Kock did a great job. But looking at this match, who should be credited? We have two points. One is the form of Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill which is a real cause of concern for India. Then there is South Africa’s bowling, it was a very good bowling performance. And Quinton de Kock is back in form, which is big news for South Africa,” he explained.
Bangar lauds Tilak Varma
Tilak Varma was the lone bright spot for India on a day where the batters were found wanting. The southpaw was the last one to fall but not before making a valiant 62. The Hyderabad player faced 34 balls and struck two fours and five sixes.
Former India player Sanjay Bangar was all praise for Tilak. “He plays proper cricketing shots and doesn’t fight the pace. In international cricket, he doesn’t just try to hit the 135-140 speed balls to mid-wicket. He plays well in the square leg area and behind, whether with a cut shot or a reverse sweep. That is his strength. His thinking and clarity are amazing, especially in T20s. He also doesn’t let the run rate drop even after a wicket falls. That is his tempo. Overall, he is the best player in a crunch situation. He gives you the confidence to either reach a good score or complete a chase,” Bangar said.
He said South Africa used the new ball well and that made the difference as India’s top three were packed off without much ado.
“From India’s point of view, they needed a big contribution from their top three batters. Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Suryakumar Yadav’s performance is always important when chasing a big total, because they have the chance to play the most balls. But the top three did not click, and South Africa played very well. They used the new ball well. Sending Axar Patel to bat at number three took him a lot of balls to find his rhythm, and it was not an ideal position for him. After that, Ottniel Baartman bowled very straight, with a ‘you miss, I hit’ style. We saw it in the ODIs too, and he got success again. George Linde came into the middle overs and contained the runs with tight bowling. South Africa will be very happy with how they played. They outplayed India in all three departments,” he said.
