What the Proteas can learn from India and their World Cup domination
ndia's Arshdeep Singh (L) and Abhishek Sharma dance during a victory lap after winning the 2026 ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup final match against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 8, 2026. Picture: Punit PARANJPE / AFP
Image: Punit PARANJPE / AFP
As a South African cricket follower, it was a major anti-climax when hosts India thumped New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final on Sunday, but it got me thinking - what can the Proteas learn from the men in blue and their dominant run in the ‘moer-en-soek’ format?
It was almost boring as India posted their second successive 250-plus score in the knockout games of the World Cup.
At least England gave India a decent run in their semi-final, before falling seven runs in pursuit of a mammoth 254 for victory.
Against New Zealand though, India bludgeoned 255/5 in their 20 overs and the Kiwis didn’t get close as they crashed to a 96-run defeat.
India’s Knockout Mentality vs. South Africa’s Struggles in T20 World Cup Finals
One of the reasons the final was something of a let-down is that I got the feeling that South Africa was the only team that could really challenge the mighty India. Of course, that’s because South Africa walloped their hosts by 76 runs during the Super Eights.
But that’s just it, with South Africa saving their worst performance of the tournament in their semi-final thrashing by the Kiwis - it showed the contrast between the Proteas and India.
Somehow, India find a way to really turn it on during the knockout games just as they did in 2024 when they beat South Africa in the final. In fact, South Africa were cruising to victory in that match before India adopted some willy time-wasting tactics, and some Jasprit Bumrah brilliance to steal the title from the Proteas.
There seems to be little difference in the ability of the playing personnel between South Africa and India, with perhaps the exception of Bumrah.
Therefore it comes down to mentality and being able to produce in those knockout matches, which has seen the Proteas come up short at every staging of the T20 World Cup.
Whether anything will change by the tournament remains to be seen, but hopefully the Proteas took note of why India are so good.
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