India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav admitted that he and Shubman Gill should have taken greater responsibility at the top after India’s 51-run defeat to South Africa in the second T20I.



Reflecting on the loss, Suryakumar said, “We bowled first and couldn’t do much early on. As the innings progressed, we understood how crucial the right lengths were on this wicket. It’s all part of the learning process — we take the lessons and move forward.”



South Africa levelled the series 1-1 after Quinton de Kock’s commanding 90 and Ottneil Baartman’s four-wicket haul. For India, Tilak Varma stood out with a quickfire 62 off 34 balls.



Talking about India’s chase, Suryakumar noted, “There was some dew as well, and when Plan A didn’t work, we should have switched to Plan B. We saw how effectively they bowled in the second innings — that’s something we’ll try to execute better next time.”



The skipper conceded that the top order needed to step up: “Shubman and I should have provided a solid start. We can’t rely on Abhishek every time — anyone can have an off-day. A few of us should’ve taken charge. Shubman got out first ball, and I should have batted deeper.”



He also addressed the team’s strategy: “Axar has been batting well in the longer format, and we wanted him to bring that same approach today. It didn’t completely go our way, but he still played well. We’ll regroup and aim for a better performance in the next match.”