India faced sharp criticism after a sarcastic advertisement aired before their T20 World Cup clash against South Africa backfired following a heavy defeat.
Before the match, an Indian broadcaster released a promotional video predicting India’s victory. The ad mocked South Africa and confidently claimed India would repeat its past success in the tournament.
However, the result turned into India’s biggest defeat by runs in T20 World Cup history.
The promo showed an Indian and South African fan sitting at a restaurant table with cupcakes placed in front of them. In the video, the South African fan picks up a cupcake and says sorry. The Indian fan then responds sarcastically, saying, “It’s okay. We won the 2024 World Cup and we will win the upcoming Super Eight match too. You can keep the cupcake.”
ofcourse they’ve decided to delete the tweet but @StarSportsIndia deserves this humiliation. if they had an iota of integrity, they would issue an apology to South Africa. unbridled arrogance. the game always finds a way to humble those who think they are bigger than the game 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/3QCM3DFw1u
— CaniZ (@caniyaar) February 22, 2026
The advertisement ended with the message that India would “repeat history” and defeat South Africa again.
After India’s loss, social media users criticized the broadcaster. Many called the promo arrogant and said it reflected overconfidence.
Due to mounting backlash, the broadcaster deleted the promotional video from its social media platforms.
Several users said the defeat was a lesson in humility. One user wrote that the broadcaster fully deserved the embarrassment. Another said the channel should apologies to South Africa if it had any integrity.
The incident quickly went viral, with cricket fans calling it an example of how overconfidence can backfire in sport.