Former England captain Michael Vaughan has launched a scathing attack on South Africa’s T20 World Cup campaign, branding them a “stupid team” after a costly mistake he believes accidentally handed India the title.
Vaughan argues that the Proteas’ decision to pull off a dominant win against the West Indies in the Super Eight stage backfired surprisingly.
If South Africa had lost that match, he says, India would have faced a much tougher path to the knockout rounds and could have been eliminated early.
The controversy has arisen after India lost by 76 runs to South Africa.
The defeat left Suryakumar Yadav’s side in a precarious position, needing to win their remaining group matches against Zimbabwe and the West Indies to keep their hopes alive.
After India defeated Zimbabwe, their fate became intertwined with the South Africa vs West Indies clash in Ahmedabad.
They comfortably defeated the two-time champions and booked their place in the semi-finals.
However, Vaughan argues that the decision had a devastating knock-on effect as it turned India’s subsequent group game against the West Indies in Kolkata into a high-pressure quarter-final.
India beat West Indies to reach the last four.
They then defeated England in the semi-finals to win the title. Meanwhile, South Africa ended their campaign in disappointment with another semi-final defeat to New Zealand.
Speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast, Vaughan was characteristically frank.
“I tell you, who do I think is the stupidest team in the tournament? South Africa. Because if South Africa had allowed West Indies to beat them in the Super 8, India would have been knocked out. I say – if they had knocked them out, the coming juggernaut would have stopped,” Vaughan said.
“By winning that game, they let the juggernaut go. India then beat Zimbabwe, West Indies in a quarter-final of sorts and then beat England. South Africa had to play Zimbabwe next and they rested three players in that match,” he added.
The 51-year-old used the scene to outline his philosophy of leading a major tournament.
“Look, these things shouldn’t happen, usually don’t. I’d say the best way to win a World Cup is to knock out the best team early,” he explained.
The irony is that South Africa’s success, which guaranteed their own progress, may have contributed to their eventual downfall.
If they lose to the West Indies, their place in the semi-finals will depend on a final Super 8 encounter with Zimbabwe – a banana skin that could complicate their campaign.
As it was, they progressed easily and were outplayed by New Zealand when it mattered most.