South Africa captain Aiden Markram acknowledged that his side was thoroughly outplayed by India following their 135-run defeat in the fourth T20I at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, on November 15. This loss handed India a 3-1 series victory, leaving the hosts searching for answers.

Markram's South Africa side struggled throughout the match, unable to counter the dominant performance of Suryakumar Yadav’s India. Speaking after the game, Markram expressed his frustration at the heavy defeat, praising India for their all-round excellence.

"Quite hard to be honest. Completely outplayed in all three aspects of the game. Have to give them credit, bat and ball they put us under pressure and it was tough for us to come back," said Markram

The South African skipper called for his team, especially the bowlers, to do some "honest reflections" and improve their execution moving forward. He emphasized the need for bowlers to adopt new strategies, especially when aiming for growth leading up to the 2026 World Cup.

"Some honest reflections need to be done. Nowadays you can't be just hitting stumps, you need to bowl wide lines and certain plans you need to come up with. One or two we might miss but it's part of the growth for this team and in the long run as we build up to 2026, we can hopefully get it right," Markram explained.

Markram also took time to appreciate the efforts of Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee, who he felt displayed admirable resilience. "Marco Jansen was incredible this series, Gerald Coetzee as well, it's not easy in the Highveld. The never-say-die attitude from them… that’s the bits and pieces we can pick up and move forward as a team," he added

Despite the loss, Markram remains focused on growth, urging his team to use the time off to return stronger. "As a team we will have a good reflection, as a white-ball team we have some time off, get stuck into some work and ultimately come back better players with better skills and with better execution," he concluded.