T20 World Cup 2026 | Red-hot South Africa clip Kiwi wings

Ahmedabad: The emotions associated with winning a T20 World Cup game against your rival are often joy and satisfaction. And New Zealand had never experienced those emotions against South Africa in the ICC showpiece. 

On a warm Saturday evening here at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the present was in no mood change the narrative of the past as the Proteas strengthened their hold on the Kiwis, winning five on the bounce in T20 World Cups, while strengthening their qualification grip on the Super 8s. 

Aiden Markram’s (86 not out) whirlwind fifty in concurrence with Marco Jansen’s (4/40) first T20I four-for dished out a comprehensive seven-wicket win for the Proteas. 

Once they restricted New Zealand to a below-par 175/7 in 20 overs, only the margin of victory was to be known with dew starting to play a role. 

Markram turned out to be the architect of the chase, entertaining the 54,923-strong crowd to a 19-ball fifty after helping South Africa record the joint-highest powerplay score (83/1) in T20 World Cups. 

Markram batted at a brisk pace and also shared a 62-run opening partnership with Quinton de Kock (20). He also saw through the chase in 17.1 overs while Ryan Rickelton (21) and Dewald Brevis (21) came and went. 

Apart from Lockie Ferguson (1/33), Jimmy Neesham (1/15) and Rachin Ravindra (1/9), there was no life in the Kiwi defence as they were overshadowed by brilliance. 

Earlier, Finn Allen (31) put Lungi Ngidi (1/34) through the shredder, smashing three fours and a six, collecting 18 runs in one over. 

Tim Seifert (13) tried to join in on the act but the extra bounce of Jansen did him in as the Kiwis lost their first wicket in the fourth over.

Rachin (13) was the next to go, again to Jansen. The 26-year-old now is without a T20 fifty in 21 innings and his performances cast a shadow over his inclusion in the XI.

The Kiwis endured turbulence and it was the after-effects of Jansen’s brilliance. The lanky left-arm quick picked up his third as Allen failed to find the elevation needed to clear mid-on, hitting it straight to Markram. The Kiwis were reduced to 58/3 in the powerplay.

Markram introduced spin in the seventh over and it struck gold as Keshav Maharaj (1/24) got rid of Glenn Phillips (1), who played on while looking to go inside out. 

But New Zealand found some fresh wind soon through Mark Chapman (48, 26b) and Daryl Mitchell (32, 24b) after a relatively gloomy phase of play.

Chapman, who had always shown promise but had only lived up to it in phases, put South Africa through the wringer. He started his carnage, rocking back and smashing Maharaj over long-on for six, and then, the runs started to come at a good clip. 

On the other hand, it was Mitchell, who looked at his imperious best in his short stay, using his long-leavers to good effect as the fifth wicket pair added 74 runs in just 44 balls.

The Chapman show ended in the 14th over, and the Kiwis looked edgy thereafter, finding the going tough and only 32 runs in the last four overs.