India captain Suryakumar Yadav remains optimistic his side can recover from their heavy defeat to South Africa and secure a place in the knockout stages of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

India suffered their first loss of the tournament on Sunday, ending a 12-match winning streak, as South Africa triumphed by 76 runs.

The defeat has left India with a challenging task to defend the title they won in 2024 in Barbados.

Now, to secure a semi-final spot, India need victories in their remaining Super Eight fixtures against Zimbabwe and the West Indies.

A single win could also suffice, provided South Africa remains unbeaten in the phase.

India’s next challenge comes against Zimbabwe in Chennai on Thursday.

Suryakumar, however, is confident that his team does not need to make significant changes to return to winning ways.

“Hopefully bat well, bowl well and field well,” Suryakumar said simply when asked what India needs to focus on for the rest of the tournament.

“That’s it. We’ll try and keep it simple. Play the same brand of cricket which we want to play, and nothing changes. I think we’ll come back strong.”

Despite the setback, India do not expect to alter their approach too much, although one concern is the form of opening batter Abhishek Sharma, the No. 1 ranked T20I batter.

Sharma fell cheaply for just 14 runs against South Africa and was one of three players dismissed in the Powerplay.

India’s chase of South Africa’s total of 187/7 faltered early due to the loss of wickets, with Suryakumar acknowledging the importance of partnerships in the chase.

“Sometimes you’ve got to think, if you’re chasing 180-185, you can’t win the game in the Powerplay, but you might lose the game in the Powerplay,” Suryakumar reflected.

“We lost too many wickets in the Powerplay, and then we couldn’t have small partnerships, which we wanted to have for chasing 180-185.”

Despite the defeat, Suryakumar remained hopeful, saying, “But that’s part of the game. We learnt it, we’ll sit back and then come back stronger.”

On the other hand, South Africa’s David Miller was the star of the match, contributing an impressive 63 runs off 35 balls to help his team set a formidable total.

Miller’s performance earned him the Player of the Match award and gave South Africa a perfect start to the Super Eights phase.

Miller, confident in his team’s prospects, expressed belief that South Africa could go one step further than their runners-up finish in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

“Today proves that they (India) are beatable,” Miller said after the match.

Miller highlighted the maturity of the South African squad, many of whom have played extensive international cricket together.

“It’s about making sure that we do, as I said, the simple things and stay in our lane as a player to get the job done,” he added. “We’re a mature team. A lot of guys have played together and a lot of cricket for South Africa, and that goes a long way under pressure. So I think it’s just staying in your lane, making sure that you get the job done and keep wanting more.”