Ryan ten Doeschate furious: 'We've messed up on a grand scale': India coach disappointed in team's performance vs South Africa

India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has admitted that the Suryakumar Yadav-led side 'messed up on a grand scale' as they faced a 76-run loss to South Africa in Super 8 clash, making their road to T20 World Cup 2026 semifinals tough.

Ten Doeschate said that the team made a lot of mistakes at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. While, a team is allowed one bad day before the knockout stage, the big loss has led to India needing big wins against Zimbabwe and West Indies to make their place in last four.

"Very disappointed in the performance," he said in the post-match press conference. "But, when you set up or set out to win a World Cup, don't expect someone to come deliver the World Cup to you halfway through the competition. So we understand we've made a lot of mistakes tonight. We understand you're probably allowed one mess up in this phase of the competition.

ALSO READ: 'I hope Axar sees it in that spirit': India assistant coach defends Washington Sundar selection

"And we've messed up on a grand scale and now the onus is on this group of guys to turn around and put in two solid performances against Zimbabwe and West Indies. Obviously with the way the group goes, you need at least four points to get through now, and it's going to need two big performances and a big bounce back from everyone involved."

ALSO READ: EXPLAINED: India's T20 World Cup semifinal hopes take massive hit after big loss to South Africa, Here's how

South Africa ended India’s long-running 12-game winning streak. It also led to India’s net run rate (NRR) dipping to -3.800. Now, India don’t just need to win their remaining games, they need to win it by a big margin. If three teams in India’s Super 8 group end up with two wins each, then NRR will decide which two progress to the semifinals.

Only Shivam Dube makes a mark

India's top-order crumbled. After Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma's early dismissals, Abhishek Sharma failed to make the most of the decent start he got. Washington Sundar couldn't justify the promotion up the order, Suryakumar Yadav struggled to find boundaries and rotate strike. Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya saw the required run rate move up drastically but couldn't keep up. Even after Pandya's wicket, India had a chance to close the margin of the defeat but Rinku Singh departed for a silver duck and Arshdeep Singh followed. Dube departed for a 37-ball 42 and India were bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs, ending up hurting their NRR.