South Africa defeat exposes chinks in India's lineup that can prove costly

The look of utter disbelief on R Ashwin’s face found resonance in the 44,000-plus crowd at the Optus Stadium. Virat Kohli’s countenance wasn’t too dissimilar, and as the camera closed in on him, he broke into a wry smile, accepting that he had messed up and that there was nowhere to hide. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that it was at that point that India’s T20 World Cup game against South Africa turned.

Kohli had just put down the easiest of chances at deep mid-wicket, seemingly too casual as he got underneath a strange shot from Aiden Markram. Advancing down the track to Ashwin’s off-spin, Markram got into a horrible tangle and played a half-pull, half-slog that zeroed in on Kohli’s big palms well inside the boundary rope at the sprawling Optus Stadium. Ninety-nine times out of hundred, Kohli would have held the catch blindfolded. This was the one that got away, the one that would formalise the beginning of the end of India’s challenge.

Markram was then at 35, South Africa were 63 for three, needing a further 71 to win in 50 deliveries with seven wickets in hand. It may not appear a tall order, but given that they had only scored 63 in 11.4 overs, the chase would have been anything but straightforward from that point on, what with only the inexperienced Tristan Stubbs and the bowlers to follow. When, in the next over, Rohit Sharma missed a direct hit from point-blank range and offered Markram another lifeline, India’s goose was well and truly cooked.

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In a game as low-scoring and tight as the Super 12 clash between the teams was, it’s the small margins that make a big difference. Taking those as the cues to move up a gear or two, Markram punished India’s largesse with a stroke-dotted essay which, together with David Miller’s unbeaten half-century that began at a snail’s pace and mushroomed into a bruiser, consigned India to their first defeat of the competition.

In the larger term, this five-wicket defeat with two balls to spare in Perth shouldn’t really dent India’s qualification chances. They still have Bangladesh and Zimbabwe to play and if everything goes according to plan, they should win both matches and secure their last-four berth.

Perth was always going to be their biggest obstacle after MCG and Pakistan, given the nature of the playing surface and the strength of the South African pace attack. India’s batsmen didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory as they found the additional bounce too hot to handle, but they won’t encounter similar conditions any more in this tournament and will be well within their rights to write this off as a strict one-off.

There are lessons to be learnt from this loss, of course. And course-correction to be enforced. One of those, in normal course, would be the continued presence of KL Rahul in the playing XI, but that’s treading into slightly muddy waters because the right-hander also happens to be the vice-captain and one half of the opening partnership alongside the skipper, Rohit Sharma.

If Rahul’s continued patchy form extends to another game, India will be forced to revisit their strategy, one suspects. Already, there is the possibility that they will be without Dinesh Karthik for at least the next game against Bangladesh in Adelaide on Wednesday, if not thereafter.

Karthik, whose World Cup hasn’t gone to script and who has found the going tough in delicate situations, walked off the park 15 overs into South Africa’s chase, clutching his lower back. A long flight is in store for the Indians on Monday as they move to South Australia for their next match, and it’s unlikely, particularly in light of Karthik’s ordinary run, that the team management will risk him in Adelaide. Rishabh Pant is all but guaranteed his first full game, which will then mean India have a left-hander in the top six, a useful weapon to have in any format of the game.

Podcast: T20 WC: How Kohli’s dropped catch, missed run outs cost India against SA

India’s recovery from 49 for five and the continued brilliance of Suryakumar Yadav was just about the only plus to emerge from Sunday night. Suryakumar’s mastery of the South African attack in conditions he has seldom experienced is a big tick going forward.

It singles him out as one for the present and the future; the 50-over World Cup is one year away and India have a fair few selection calls to make, what with this being an ageing side. Suryakumar has put his hand up for consideration and it will be very hard to overlook his credentials, no matter who the other options the brains trust identify and persist with.

India’s out cricket has been less than acceptable for a few months now – during the Asia Cup in the UAE, former head coach Ravi Shastri said this was the worst Indian fielding unit in the last five or six years and it’s hard to disagree with him – and that’s something that won’t make Shastri’s successor Rahul Dravid all too happy. Fielding is both a non-negotiable and non-reactive element and there is no excuse for the sloppiness that India have exuded almost from the start of the year. In big grounds like those in Australia, specifically, they can often spell the difference between victory and defeat, as India found out the hard way on Sunday.

Despite their first defeat, by five wickets with two balls remaining, India are still in second place in the group and still on course to make the last four. To those so inclined to look at omens, during their triumphant march to the 50-over World Cup title at home in 2011, India lost to the Proteas in Nagpur, their only defeat of the competition, so that’s something to draw inspiration from. A return to the more batsman-friendly surfaces outside of Perth should embolden India and, hopefully, bring succour to the stuttering Rahul, whose best is often kept in cottonwool.

It isn’t time to press the panic button yet, not after one solitary loss, but India know they are in for a scrap. It’s up to them to ensure they are ready for it, ready to take the hard, non-scenic route to the next stage.