Former India opener Virender Sehwag shared an interesting statistic after India lost to South Africa in the first Super 8 match of the 2026 T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
India conceded 187 runs after being asked to bowl first and were later bowled out for just 111, losing the match by 76 runs. This crushing defeat could hurt their chances of reaching the semi-finals.
Sehwag pointed out that India has never won a World Cup match by more than 160 runs. He said players like Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dubey and Hardik Pandya were unable to step up when the team got a chance to play under pressure like Kohli did.
“Only when Virat Kohli was running, India was able to win a match chasing 160. Otherwise, India has never won a match chasing 160-plus in the World Cup. And in most cases, he used to remain unbeaten.”
Be it 80, 60 or 50 not out, Kohli can finish the game. Which player finished yesterday (vs. SA)? Which batsman finished the match in this World Cup? Yesterday, many players got a chance to become Virat Kohli,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.
According to Sehwag, Suryakumar Yadav did not perform at his best against South Africa. He felt Suryakumar looked stressed while trying to salvage the match, which prevented him from playing to his natural playing ability. Sehwag said playing with fear won’t help a team win big games. He believes that if India wants to do well in the World Cup, they must play cricket fearlessly and remain confident in difficult situations.
“Be it Surya Kumar Yadav. His performance was not like that against South Africa… It feels like Surya Kumar Yadav is playing under pressure. He is playing to save. If you play like that, it will be difficult to win. India will have to play fearless cricket,” he further added.
Talking about India’s strong batting line-up, Virender Sehwag said players need to learn from Virat Kohli. He explained that while in T20 cricket, strike rate is important, in run-chase, it is not that important whether the batsman can last till the end and finish the game for the team. Sehwag added that Indian batsmen must take more responsibility in pressure situations and focus on winning matches rather than just scoring quick runs.
“Tilak Verma has a chance. Surya Kumar Yadav has a chance. Shivam Dube has a chance. Hardik Pandey has a chance. Someone has to be Virat Kohli. Someone has to finish. Someone has to learn. Virat Kohli How did Kohli finish the game? Well, I agree that the strike rate is important, but when you can see the scoreboard and win the game, then the strike rate doesn’t matter anymore,” he added.