Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

AK Markram
AK Markram
82(46) 7x4 - 4x6
Control %83%
  • Productive Shot
  • flick
  • 15 runs
  • 0x4 - 1x6
0 0 4 12 11 13 21 21
R Shepherd
R Shepherd
52(37) 3x4 - 4x6
Control %60%
  • Productive Shot
  • slog shot
  • 14 runs
  • 2x4 - 1x6
4 4 9 2 13 6 5 9

Best performances - Bowlers

L Ngidi
L Ngidi
O4
M0
R30
W3
Eco7.5
RHB
OFFLEG
3W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
K Rabada
K Rabada
O4
M0
R22
W2
Eco5.5
RHB
OFFLEG
1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
1W

Match Details

Toss

South Africa , elected to field first

Player Of The Match

Match number

Season

Hours of play (local time)

15.00 start, First Session 15.00-16.30, Interval 16.30-16.50, Second Session 16.50-18.20

Match days

26 February 2026 - day/night match (20-over match)

Reserve Umpire

Match Referee

Points

South Africa 2, West Indies 0

Scorer: Sudeep Poojar | Commentator: Vishal Dikshit

6.30pm What does this mean for the semi-final scenarios in this group? South Africa are pretty much through, unless Zimbabwe beat India by around 50 runs and then South Africa by about 84 to go past them on NRR. Things getting started over in Chennai in the other game of this group, let's hop over to India vs Zimbabwe...goodbye from this one!

Aiden Markram: Thought we bowled nicely. A team like West Indies will take the game to you. Thought the pitch was tacky and stopy. With the early nip, wanted to keep the ball up. Steep bounce came from the tackiness. Fortunately ended up on the right side of the toss. Lot of credit to the bowlers. [Surface] felt like while we were bowling, the wicket kept getting better and better. Towards the back end, when we went full and yorkers and change of pace, it didn't work. Ricks has come and made No. 3 his own. No step in this competition is easy. Hopefully we get through. [Love affair with Ahmedabad] Will be great, don't think too far ahead but boys have got used to the conditions here."

Shai Hope: Very important to get a big score and losing so many wickets in the powerplay cost us. We were 40-50 short. Must commend the guys in the bottom half for giving us a chance, never know things could have changed. This pitch was probably better for batting that Mumbai, the ball was coming on nicely, wasn't any purchase there when we bowled and you could play through the line. We need to ensure we execute our plans, not necessarily the challenge of managing injuries in the side. It was one of those days. I thought we didn't get enough runs on the board, and it was hard for the bowlers to pull it back. Everything will not be easy. The way we play our cricket, there will be a loss, aim was to get it out early. Next game will be quarter-final.

Sowmya : "Unfair that Lungi Ngidi wasn't the POTM"

Aiden Markram is the Player of the Match: We actually bowled pretty well, obviously the powerplay was a big thing for us, to get off nicely. The partnership with Quinny [set things up]. The second innings was good to bat on, it was slightly tacky early on and the guys bowled pretty well early on. I just try and get into rhythm as quickly as possible, small difference and trying to get a rhythm and flow and do what the team needs. Whether I'm captain or not, opening is a responsibility, I have a good relationship with Quinny and Rickelton at No. 3. We try to make sure the team gets off to a good start especially on wickets like this and hope to continue this.

Jacques: "How can this not qualify SA for the semis? Only one of the remaining teams in their group can get 4 points, no?" If India lose all three and Zimbabwe win their remaining two, there will be three teams on four points each. So if India win in a few hours, SA are into the semis

6.13pm A comprehensive victory for South Africa, they stay unbeaten in this World Cup and they are building a fortress in Ahmedabad! It is, by the way, the first loss for West Indies in the tournament who fought back very bravely after being 83 for 7 early on, but South Africa dominated the game otherwise. Pace and bounce, assisted by West Indies' mistakes, did the trick to take down the mighty West Indies line-up before Holder and Shepherd turned things around to post a competitive 176. But it was a pretty flat pitch and looks like they would have needed 200-plus to make a game of this. It was not going to be straightforward for SA but the pitch had become much easier to bat on, and the way Markram led the charge right from the start set the tone nicely for them, as de Kock and Rickelton played second-fiddle and Markram remained unbeaten on 82.

16.1
4
Holder to Markram, FOUR, back almost over the bowler, was a chance and it goes off Holder's hands to the boundary. Pretty apt that Markram hits the winning runs and South Africa are very close to the semis now

Holder for his last, around the wicket

"Markram and Rickelton finally Sheppard the Chase." Had a long day, Deo?

END OF OVER:
16 | 10 Runs | SA: 173/1 (4 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 10.81, RRR: 1.00)

  • Ryan Rickelton45 (28b)
  • Aiden Markram78 (45b)
  • Romario Shepherd2-0-22-0
  • Jason Holder3-0-27-0
15.6
0
Shepherd to Rickelton, no run, stretches the game into the next over with a wide yorker and Rickelton can't get bat on it
15.5
0
Shepherd to Rickelton, no run, another full toss, another one hits the stumps and it deflects to mid off so ends up as a dot
15.4
1
Shepherd to Markram, 1 run, he backs away and Shepherd chases him with a yorker, ends up flicking for one more
15.4
1w
Shepherd to Markram, 1 wide, slow, low and full, just past the pads for a wide down leg
15.3
1
Shepherd to Rickelton, 1 run, he drills the straight and low full toss back to hit the stumps and they get one anyway

ICC Men's T20 World Cup

Super Eights, Group 1
TeamMWLPTNRR
SA33062.259
IND32140.106
WI31220.993
ZIM3030-3.415
Super Eights, Group 2
TeamMWLPTNRR
ENG33061.096
NZ31131.39
PAK3113-0.123
SL3030-1.95
Group A
TeamMWLPTNRR
IND44082.5
PAK43160.976
USA42240.788
NED4132-1.217
NAM4040-3.108
Group B
TeamMWLPTNRR
ZIM43071.506
SL43161.741
AUS42241.523
IRE41230.15
OMA4040-4.845
Group C
TeamMWLPTNRR
WI44081.874
ENG43160.201
SCOT41320.184
ITA4132-1.02
NEP4132-1.349
Group D
TeamMWLPTNRR
SA44081.943
NZ43161.227
AFG42240.889
UAE4132-1.364
CAN4040-2.426