A dominant all-round show from South Africa helped them beat New Zealand to become the first team to progress to the Super 8 of the T20 World Cup 2026. Captain Aiden Markram led from the front, scoring an unbeaten 86 runs off 44 balls, to get the job done. On a surface where the other Proteas batters were struggling to keep up with the momentum, the 31-year-old dominated the Kiwi bowlers, helping the team chase 176 runs with 17 balls to spare at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Batting first, the BlackCaps showed intent but the fall of wickets at regular intervals ruined their momentum. Opener Tim Seifert handed the team a positive start, scoring 31 runs off 17 balls but there was little support for him from the other end. Batting at number five, Mark Chapman showed intent, smacking 48 runs off 26 balls. He changed the tide and most importantly, had support from Daryl Mitchell, who made 32 runs off 24 balls. However, batting at number six, he couldn’t accelerate as much as he would have liked.
What happened in the chase?
Marco Jansen was the star with the ball for South Africa, claiming four wickets. He had a poor start but the pacer returned to his best and played a major role in restricting New Zealand below 180 runs. He picked up the crucial wickets of Seifert, Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra and Chapman, which is four wickets of the top five batters.
When it came to the chase, Markram did all the talking. He did not change gears despite South Africa losing wickets and that played a vital role in them getting the job done. A switch in intent could have brought pressure on the Proteas and Markram managed to keep that away. He hit a 19-ball half-century and with that, the all-rounder now holds the joint-fastest fifty by a captain in T20 World Cup history. Rohit Sharma and Dasun Shanaka are tied with him.
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