New Delhi: South Africa defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets in the Super Eight stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing 154, the Proteas lost opener Quinton de Kock in the second ball to Sikandar Raza in the first over.
Raza struck again after a short break, dismissing skipper Aiden Markram cheaply for 4 off five balls, pushing South Africa to 14-2 in 2.5 overs.
Ryan Rickelton and Devald Brevis steadied the innings and formed a solid partnership with Rickelton.
The 29-run stand was broken when Brad Evans dismissed Rickelton, who was 43-3 in 5.5 overs after scoring 31 runs off 22 balls, including 4 sixes.
Previs continued to hit boundaries, easing the pressure as South Africa crossed 50, with David Miller joining him at the crease.
However, Miller was dismissed in the penultimate ball of the 10th over with 2 fours and 2 sixes from Musharbani after scoring 22 off 16 balls.
The Proteas came under pressure as Sikandar struck back with the big wicket of Previs, hitting 2 fours and 4 sixes off 18 balls to finish off 43 runs after 101-5 in 10.4 overs.
Tristan Stubbs and George Linde came to the crease and sealed victory for their team in the 18th over. Stubbs remained unbeaten on 21 off 24 balls while Linde scored 30 off 21 balls including 2 fours and a six.
Batting first, South Africa scored 153-7 in 20 overs, driven by a brilliant innings from captain Sikandar Raza.
Chevrons got off to a strong start as they scored 13 runs in the opening over.
However, wicketkeeper-batsman Tadiwanashe Marumani was dismissed in the second ball of Kwena Mabaga’s second over, scoring seven runs off one ball, including a boundary.
Unrich Nordje then dismissed the struggling Brian Bennett, scoring 15 off 13 balls with a four and a six to take the team to 28-2 in 4.3 overs.
Dion Myers and Raza anchored the innings with a crucial partnership that helped South Africa cross the 50-run mark. The 38-run stand was broken when Myers fell for 11 off 16 balls, including a boundary, to dismiss George Linde.
Ryan Burl and Tony Munyonga were next to fall to Lungi Ngidi and Corbin Bosch for 5 and 2 runs respectively.
Set batsman Sikandar Raza eventually scored 73 off 43 balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes as South Africa were bowled out for 126-6 in 16.3 overs.
Corbin Bosch picked up his second wicket by dismissing Brad Evans, who had scored 8 runs, including a six, off 11 balls. Clive Madante was unbeaten on 26 off 20 balls including 3 fours.
On the bowling side for the Proteas, Kwena Mabaga and Corbin Bosch took 2 wickets each, while George Linde, Lungi Ngidi and Henrich Nordje took one wicket each.