Michael Vaughan believes South Africa were 'stupidest team of the T20 World Cup': ‘India would have been knocked out’

In the Super 8s, India lost the opening match against South Africa by 76 runs, and this result left the Men in Blue needing to win their next two matches against Zimbabwe and the West Indies. However, that might not have been enough had the Windies beaten South Africa, as Shai Hope's team had already won their opening game against Zimbabwe.

“I tell you, who I think is the stupidest team of the tournament? South Africa. Because if South Africa had allowed the West Indies to beat them in the Super 8s, India would have been knocked out. I’m just saying – if they had cleared them out, the juggernaut that was coming would have stopped,” Vaughan said on the Stick to Cricket podcast.

“By winning that game, they allowed the juggernaut to go on. India then beat Zimbabwe, then the West Indies in a kind of quarterfinal, and then England. South Africa had to play Zimbabwe next, and they even rested three players for that match," he added.

"Look, these things shouldn’t happen and usually don’t happen. I’m just saying that if you want to win a World Cup, the best way is to eliminate the best team early,” Vaughan said.

Speaking of the T20 World Cup final, India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs in Ahmedabad. On the other hand, South Africa, the tournament favourites, crashed out after losing the semis to the Black Caps.

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