WATCH, IND vs SA | Bumrah responds to new ball duties by rattling de Kock to get India off to flier

South African skipper Aiden Markram won the coin flip in their 2026 T20 World Cup Super Eights opening clash against India, in Ahmedabad on Sunday, and chose to bat first. His Indian counterpart Suryakumar Yadav admitted he would have done the same, but expressed hope of using any help with the new ball to peg back the Proteas early. He put the words into action by handing the new-ball to Jasprit Bumrah instead of the regular operator Hardik Pandya, with a clear brief of snatching early wickets. His spearhead wasn't one to disappoint.

Bumrah showed the first glimpses of brilliance as early as the third ball when a back of a ength delivery nipped into Markram and took his inside edge, albeit the ball evaded the stumps and resulted in a single. The veteran then made a rare error of delivering a full toss and Quinton de Kock needed no second invitation to comfortably put it away for a boundary, putting some pressure on the Indian quick. Unfetterred, Bumrah steamed in again from around the stumps and this time delivered a ball on hard length at the stumps angling into de Kock, tempting the opener into a big heave across the line. However, just as the batter thought he had got things right, the Kookaburra decked back in to pierce the huge gap between bat and pad before rattling into the poles with venom to send the bails flying.

It was just the start India had wished for and their reactions showed.