Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav have failed massively in both T20Is
Irfan Pathan raised concerns on Gill's lack of form
He also called out SKY's pattern of getting out while playing toward leg side
On a wet evening, India captain Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to field first. But the Proteas punished a disjointed Indian bowling attack, and then the chase unfolded. Despite Tilak Verma's 34-ball 62, the hosts were dismissed for 162 in 19.1 overs.
While chasing 210-plus targets in T20Is, India have lost seven in seven, and with the win, the Proteas have 13 wins (33 matches) in the format, the most by any team, breaking a three-way tie with Australia (37) and England (29).
Speaking on JioHotstar, Irfan Pathan dissected India's top-order troubles.
"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," Pathan said.
Powered by Quinton de Kock's 46-ball 90, South Africa posted 213/4, with India's new-ball pair of Arshdeep Singh (0/54) and Jasprit Bumrah (0/45) leaking 99 runs from their wicketless nine overs.
"Quinton de Kock did a great job. But looking at this match, who should be credited?" the former India all-rounder probed. "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."
Diminishing Returns
For the second successive match, the skipper and his deputy, Shubman Gill, failed to perform with the bat, managing a golden duck and a four-ball five, respectively. In the first T20I, which India won by 101 runs, the pair lasted a combined 13 balls -- two for Gill and 11 for 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," Pathan explained. "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.
"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."
Growing Concern
With Abhishek Sharma also getting out, India needed Suryakumar Yadav to play an anchor, but the skipper nicked a Marco Jansen delivery. The hosts were 32/3 in 3.5 overs, and never recovered.
"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," Pathan opined.
In his last 20 T20I innings, since November 2024, Suryakumar has scored only 227 runs at an average of 13.35 and a strike rate of 120.10. The 35-year-old hasn't scored a fifty, and more alarmingly, only two of his innings have lasted beyond 20 balls in this period.
"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," Pathan added. "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."
South Africa's tour of India 2025 will continue with the third T20I at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, on Sunday.
