Aiden Markram-led South Africa hosted Suryakumar Yadav-led India on Friday, November 15 in the fourth and final T20I match of the series at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
Aiden Markram’s South Africa national cricket team faced a humiliating 135-run defeat in the match against the Men in Blue and lost the series 1-3.
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South Africa were bowled by India in the 4th T20I
The Proteas lost the toss and were invited to play first in the match. Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson made the South African bowlers look clueless as the Indian batsmen brought out their beast mode.
Tilak and Samson smashed the bowlers all over the park and scored fantastic centuries. All the South African bowlers conceded runs with an economy of over 10, with only Lutho Sipamla managing to pick a wicket.
Pretty difficult to be honest – Aiden Markram
At the post-match presentation ceremony, Aiden Markram said that he found it difficult to be on the losing side and accepted that they were completely outplayed by the Indian team. He said:
“Pretty tough to be honest. Completely outmatched in all three aspects of the game. I have to give them credit, the bat and the ball put pressure on us and it was tough for us to come back.”
Aiden Markram further sent a bold message to his players, especially the bowlers, to reflect honestly and improve. Aiden Markram stated:
“Some honest reflections need to be done. Nowadays you can’t just hit stumps, you need to throw wide lines and certain plans need to be devised. We may miss one or two, but it’s part of the growth of this team. Long term, as we move forward to 2026, hopefully we can do well.
“As a team we will have a good reflection, as a white ball team we have some free time, we concentrate on some work and finally we return better players with better skills and with better execution.”
In the end, Aiden Markram named Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee as the two biggest positives for South Africa from the T20I series against India. Aiden Markram said:
“It’s up to the individual where they want to go and where they want to invest. Marco Jansen was amazing in this series, Gerald Coetzee too, it’s not easy on the Highveld, the never give up attitude from them and Those are the bits we can pick up and move forward as a team.
How did South Africa perform in the previous 3 matches against India?
In their previous T20I clashes, South Africa showed mixed performances against India. In the first T20I in Durban, the hosts struggled to keep up with India’s massive score of 202, reaching 141 in just 17.5 overs.
Sanju Samson’s mighty 107 off 50 balls set the tone for India, while South Africa’s batting line-up faltered under pressure. Despite promising starts from the likes of Ryan Rickelton and Heinrich Klaasen, they lost wickets at regular intervals, unable to mount a serious comeback.
In the second T20I at Gqeberha, South Africa claimed a three-wicket victory with six balls remaining. India managed a modest total of 124, and although South Africa found difficulties against the disciplined bowling of Varun Chakravarthy (5/17), Tristan Stubbs held firm with an unbeaten 47 to guide the team to victory.
In the third T20I at Centurion, South Africa fought hard chasing a target of 220. Marco Jansen’s rapid 54 off 17 balls brought them within striking distance but they fell short by 11 runs, finishing at 208/7. Consistent contributions from their top order showed promise, however, India’s controlled bowling during the death overs stopped their chase just short of victory.
