'Stupidest team': Vaughan tears into South Africa for handing India T20 World Cup

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has launched a scathing attack on South Africa's T20 World Cup campaign, branding them the "stupidest team" in the tournament after a costly mistake he believes inadvertently handed the title to India.

Vaughan argues that the Proteas' decision to secure a dominant victory over the West Indies in the Super Eights stage backfired spectacularly. 

He claims that had South Africa lost that match, India would have faced a much tougher road to the knockout stages and could have been eliminated prematurely.

The controversy stems from the aftermath of India's heavy 76-run defeat to South Africa. 

That loss 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 scraped past Zimbabwe, their fate became intertwined with the South Africa vs West Indies clash in Ahmedabad. 

The Proteas produced a commanding performance to beat the two-time champions comfortably, sealing their own place in the semi-finals. 

However, Vaughan contends that this result had a devastating knock-on effect, transforming India's subsequent group game against the West Indies in Kolkata into a high-pressure quarter-final.

India rose to the occasion, defeating the West Indies to book their place in the last four. 

They then overcame England in the semi-final before clinching the title. South Africa, meanwhile, saw their campaign end in disappointment with a heavy defeat to New Zealand in the other semi-final.

Speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast, Vaughan was characteristically forthright.

“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.

“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.

The 51-year-old used the scenario to outline his philosophy on navigating a major tournament.

"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,” he explained.

The irony, of course, is that South Africa's victory, which guaranteed their own progression, may have contributed to their eventual downfall. 

Had they lost to the West Indies, their passage to the semi-finals would have hinged on a final Super 8 encounter with Zimbabwe – a potential banana skin that could have complicated their campaign. 

As it was, they advanced with ease only to be comprehensively outplayed by New Zealand when it mattered most.