Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], February 23 (ANI): Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin criticised India's playing 11 combination and Axar Patel's omission from the team in their Super 8 fixture against South Africa in the ongoing T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Ashwin recalled Patel's match-winning partnership against the same side in the T20 WC final in 2024, alongside Indian batting heavyweight Virat Kohli and also took on the mantle of being the more aggressive batter.

India went with Washington Sundar in their Super 8 clash against the Proteas, benching Axar Patel, who is also the Indian vice-captain. South Africa snapped India's 12-match unbeaten streak at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup as they handed the defending champions a 76-run defeat in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

However, Sundar wasn't able to do anything substantial in the game, conceding 17 runs in the two overs he bowled it became even worse with the bat, as he made only 11 runs despite coming at No.5, ahead of Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube.

This was India's second-biggest defeat by runs in all T20 Internationals behind the 80-run defeats against New Zealand in Wellington in 2019. In T20 World Cup history, India suffered their biggest defeat.

'In the last T20 World Cup, Axar had come in when India were in the same situation as they were here. He batted with Virat and made a partnership. Of course, Virat's experience counted, but Axar was not any less. If you had wickets in hand and some stability after ten overs, India would have chased it down,' Ashwin said on his YouTube channel 'Ash ki Baat'.

India's loss of 76 runs against South Africa has tightened their qualification scenarios for the semi-finals. The Men in Blue will have to win the remaining two games with a good net run rate to keep their hopes of defending the T20 World Cup alive. (ANI)