After Ishan Kishan fell in the first over, India never recovered with Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar all coming a cropper.

Dube scored 42 runs but then he scoffed 37 balls. To all intents and purposes, it was a forgettable night, and India legend Sunil Gavaskar tore into the co-hosts’ batting approach in what was a very important match for India.

“Yes, if you look at the way Dewald Brevis and David Miller rebuilt the South African innings, they played a lot more shots in the ‘V’, especially when the short ball was used. They adjusted really well. They realised the ball wasn’t coming onto the bat as quickly as expected — it was holding up slightly in the surface. Having seen how they constructed their innings and built that partnership, that was the kind of approach that was needed, rather than simply throwing the bat at just about everything,” Gavaskar told Star Sports after the match.

“I don’t think there was enough adaptability from India’s perspective. South Africa had already played three matches on this ground, so they had a very good understanding of how the surface behaved. They struggled in the first four or five overs and had to adjust, and it was only once the Brevis–Miller partnership got going that they were able to play their shots more freely,” he said.

After the horrible performance, India’s net run rate has now really sunk, to -3.800, and not only do they now have to win their next two matches against Zimbabwe and the West Indies, but they also have to ensure they big win.

Group 1 is well and truly open now. Surya’s men now play Zimbabwe on Thursday, another African team, and Sikandar Raza’s men have already registered two big wins in the tournament against Australia and co-hosts Sri Lanka. It has to be said that things ain’t looking great for the Men in Blue at present.