Fearless cricket does not mean reckless cricket

You still need someone sensible in the middle. Someone who understands the game situation. That’s where you miss players like KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. Around them, fearless cricket actually works. They anchor the innings, read the tempo, absorb pressure. And when it’s time to accelerate, they can explode. That balance makes the difference.

Fearlessness needs a spine. Without it, it becomes chaos. Except for Jasprit Bumrah, who looks a class apart and seems to have done his homework, the rest, though wearing the Indian colours, couldn’t scare the opposition.

At 20 for 3 in the fourth over, South Africa could have panicked. Instead, they played sensible cricket. In the next eight overs, they punished the bowlers, who may not have done their homework, and raced to 117 for 4. 

That partnership between Dewald Brevis and David Miller broke the back of the Indian bowling and shifted the momentum completely.

Clear game plan by SA

Then, their bowlers came prepared. Lots of slower balls. They forced our batsmen to generate power instead of feeding them pace to just deflect. Whether it was sharp analysis from the coach or clever use of data, one thing was clear — they trusted their plan and executed it brilliantly.

Sometimes a loss like this is needed. It lets the air out of the overblown system. It punctures inflated egos. Except for that ego part, the story reminds me of 1983 — where every match saw a new hero rise.

Handling pressure is not easy. When you raise expectations — your own and those of millions of Indian fans — living up to them becomes an uphill task. And sometimes, the rub of the green hurts more than just dirtying your clothes.

South Africa won the toss, batted better, bowled better, executed better — and deserved to win. When you’ve done your homework, you feel confident. The mind stays calm. You don’t panic when faced with the unexpected.

India can still do it, but the headmaster must be worthy of the chair, and not a backdoor entry. It’s a wake-up call. A reminder that back-door entries don’t work at this level. You can’t sneak your way into excellence. You can’t bypass merit and expect results to follow. International sport doesn’t respect shortcuts. It exposes them. At the highest stage, only preparation and clarity work, and only competence survives.

6
No. of India batters who scored one or zero against South Africa 

10
No. of India batters dismissed by catches vs SA, a result of poor shot selection by some

11
No. of ducks for India at the ongoing T20 World Cup — their highest ever at any edition

The author was part of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning team