T20 World Cup co-hosts lose as South Africa ends India’s winning run and England beats Sri Lanka

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — South Africa stunned T20 World Cup defending champion India with a 76-run victory on Sunday in the Super Eights with the tournament co-host dismissed for 111.

It was a completely dominant performance from the Proteas, which lost to India in the final of the 2024 edition.

India’s 12-match winning run since the 2024 tournament came to an end as left-arm pacer Marco Jansen took 4-22 in 3.5 overs.

India was bowled out for 111 runs in 18.5 overs after South Africa chose to bat first and scored 187-7. David Miller hit 63 off 35 balls, with seven fours and three sixes, in the Group 1 match at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

Sunday proved to be a dismal day for both co-hosts at the T20 World Cup as Sri Lanka crashed to a 51-run defeat to England in Pallekele.

South Africa surprised almost everyone by choosing to bat and was at 20-3 in four overs. Jasprit Bumrah (3-15 in four overs) bowled opener Quinton de Kock for 6 and then Ryan Rickelton was out caught for 7.

In-form skipper Aiden Markram made only 4 and was caught off Arshdeep Singh. But the Proteas rallied hard with its middle order coming good.

Dewald Brevis hit 45 runs off 29 balls, and put on 97 off 50 balls with Miller for the fourth wicket to change the momentum.

Brevis hit three sixes, while Miller raced to 50 off only 26 balls as India didn’t have any answers after the power play. Miller hit three sixes and six fours in his half-century.

Shivam Dube provided the breakthrough in the 13th over, but there was no immediate respite. Miller quickly added another 35 off 20 balls with Tristan Stubbs, who hit 44 not out off 24 balls including three sixes.

Miller fell in the 16th over – caught off Varun Chakravarthy – but Stubb’s momentum gave plenty for South Africa to defend.

India got off to a disastrous start – Markram trapped Ishan Kishan with his off-spin. The in-form opener was out caught for a four-ball duck.

Jansen had Tilak Verma caught behind for 1, while Abhishek Sharma struggled to put bat on ball as he labored to 15 off 12 balls. He was eventually caught off Jansen.

From 26-3, it became 51-5 in 9.1 overs for India – Corbin Bosch struck twice in successive overs, removing Washington Sundar (11) and then skipper Suryakumar Yadav (18).

Dube scored 42 off 37, with neither Hardik Pandya (18) nor Rinku Singh (0) able to change the game. Left-arm pacer Keshav Maharaj picked up 3-24 in three overs.

It was India’s biggest defeat (by runs) in T20 World Cups. Its remaining Super 8 games are against Zimbabwe in Chennai (Thursday) and West Indies in Kolkata (next Sunday).

South Africa plays West Indies on Thursday in Ahmedabad.

Phil Salt anchored England to 146-9 with a resolute 62 off 40 balls and Jacks provided impetus to the total by smashing four boundaries in his 21-run knock in the death overs.

Sri Lanka crumbled to 95 all out as offspinner Jacks picked up three wickets inside the power play and earned England its 12th consecutive win in a T20 against the hosts.

The duo led England to its 12th consecutive win in a T20 against Lanka.

Jofra Archer (2-20) struck with a vital blow in his second over when Pathum Nissanka, who scored a century against Australia at the same venue during a group game, flicked a 150 kph delivery straight to deep mid-wicket.

Sri Lanka batters struggled against Jacks’ fuller deliveries and slipped to 34-5 inside the first six overs. Kusal Mendis offered a tame return catch to Jacks and Pavan Rathanayake got dismissed off the first delivery when Jacks got a leading edge.

Captain Dasun Shanaka top-scored with 30 but fell to a brilliant relay catch at the boundary – involving Jacks and Tom Banton. Liam Dawson (2-27) and Adil Rashid (2-13) shared five wickets in helpful conditions.

Earlier, England’s top-order crashed against spinner Dunith Wellalage (3-26) as Jos Buttler’s (7) disappointing tournament continued.

Off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana (2-21) also kept the batters under pressure in the middle overs as England kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

Salt completed his half-century off 36 balls before he heaved to long-off in the 15th over, but Jacks’ cameo in the death overs and Overton’s straight six in the last over gave England enough runs to defend.

England next plays Pakistan at the same venue on Tuesday.

Sri Lanka plays New Zealand in Colombo on Wednesday.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

India's Shivam Dube plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and South Africa in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

South Africa's captain Aiden Markram, left, shakes hands with India's captain Suryakumar Yadav after South Africa won their T20 World Cup cricket match against India in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

South Africa's Keshav Maharaj, right, celebrates with captain Aiden Markram the wicket of India's Arshdeep Singh during the T20 World Cup cricket match between India and South Africa in Ahmedabad, India, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)

England's Jofra Archer, center without cap, celebrates with teammates the wicket of Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Sri Lanka and England in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

England's Adil Rashid, left, and Jamie Overton run between the wickets during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Sri Lanka and England in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

England's Phil Salt plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Sri Lanka and England in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

England's Will Jacks, right, celebrates with teammates the wicket of Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Sri Lanka and England in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's captain Dasun Shanaka gives thumbs up to a fan during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

England's captain Harry Brook takes the catch to get dismiss Italy's Anthony Mosca during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and Italy in Kolkata, India, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

HELSINGBORG, Sweden (AP) — NATO allies and defense officials expressed bewilderment Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces pulled out of Europe.

The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the U.S. military footprint in Europe. Trump's initial order set off a flurry of action among military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America's commitment to Europe's security to ponder what forces they might have to backfill on NATO's eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.

But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send "an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.

“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters Friday at a meeting she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”

U.S. defense officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the U.S. troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration reevaluates its force needs. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less U.S. troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.

The latest surprise came despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.

Trump's initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in that war.

Trump told reporters that the U.S. would be cutting even more than 5,000 and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.

Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”

About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to keep at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there is a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.

The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.

But Trump's latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, U.S. officials briefed the allies on the Pentagon's aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defense in the event of serious security concerns. It was widely expected that a further reduction of U.S. forces would be coming.

Asked whether any cuts were announced, Rutte said: “I’m afraid it’s much more complicated than that.” He said the procedure “is highly classified” and declined to give details.

Rubio played down concerns about a shift in U.S. force levels in Europe, saying: "Every country has to constantly reevaluate what their needs are, what their commitments are around the world, and how to properly structure that.”

Cook reported from Brussels. Associated Press writer Emma Burrows in London contributed.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with journalists during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, front second left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, front left, speak with each other during a group photo at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte look at each other as they deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže speaks at the doorstep of the NATO foreign ministers' meeting at Sea U in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte deliver a statement during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives with his wife Jeanette at Malmo Airport, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Malmo-Sturup, Sweden, ahead of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, second from left, shakes hands with Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, as he is greeted by King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, Queen Silvia of Sweden and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden Maria Malmer Stenergard, right, before a dinner at Sofiero Castle in Helsingborg, Sweden, Thursday May 21 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard speaks to media at the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)