AHMEDABAD: Unbeaten South Africa defeated West Indies by nine runs in the second Super Eight match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing West Indies’ target of 177, the Proteas won by just one wicket in 16.1 overs thanks to an exceptional start from openers Quinton de Kock and captain Aiden Markram.
The pair started aggressively.
De Kock approached his T20I half-century but was dismissed for 47 off 24 balls, with four fours and four sixes as Roston Chase took the first wicket of the game.
Markram reached his 14th T20I half-century while partnering Ryan Rickeldon to take South Africa past the 100-run mark.
The duo dominated the West Indies bowling attack, hitting fours at regular intervals and scoring another 50 runs, taking the team to 155-1 in 14 overs.
The Proteas finished their innings in commanding fashion, with Aidan Markram scoring an unbeaten 82 off 46 balls with 7 fours and 4 sixes, while Ryan Rickeldon scored 45 off 28 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes.
Batting first, West Indies scored 176 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. Openers Brandon King and skipper Shai Hope started aggressively, with boundaries flowing freely and runs on the board.
The Proteas saw a start when Hope was dismissed for 16 off six balls with a four and two sixes before Kagiso Rabada took the wicket and finished the opening stand on 29.
Shimron Hetmyer soon fell cheaply for two wickets in three balls, and to Rabada, the West Indies struggled to 31-2 in 2.5 overs.
South Africa grabbed more momentum as Lungi Ngidi picked up two more wickets to dismiss King for 21 off 11 balls, including 5 fours, and Roston Chase for 2 off two balls.
Sherfan Rutherford and Rowman Powell tried to stabilize the innings, but Rutherford fell to Corbin Bosch for 12 runs, including a six off 10 balls, leaving the team at 60-5 in 6.3 overs.
Powell fell for 9 off 11 balls, while Matthew Ford added 11 for Bosch’s second wicket.
After that, Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd batted aggressively and gradually took the team past 100 runs. The pair put on 89 runs to revive West Indies’ innings.
Holder was eventually run out after scoring 49 off 31 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes.
Shepherd carried the innings to the end, hitting a boundary to reach his maiden T20I half-century and remained unbeaten on 52 off 37 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes to guide the West Indies to a challenging score.
For South Africa, Lungi Nkiti took 3 for 30 in four overs, while Kagiso Rabada and Corbin Bosch claimed two wickets each.