Clinical and confident — that is how South Africa have looked tonight. They register an emphatic win over New Zealand to keep intact their unbeaten record in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup against them. With 6 points and a healthy net run rate to their name, they have one foot in the Super8s already.
New Zealand will need to defeat Canada and hope that UAE do not put up a miraculous performance in the last two games of theirs. With that, our coverage comes to an end. Do join us tomorrow, when we take you through three mouth-watering fixtures.
In the morning it will be West Indies taking on Nepal, who recently defeated the men in maroon in a T20I series. In the afternoon, the USA play their final group stage game against a hungry Namibia, and in the evening, it will be India vs Pakistan.
For now, it is Darpan Tikiya signing off on the behalf of AkshayaKrishna Polya, Aman and RajuKhariya. Sayonara!
Highest Individual Scores by Captain in T20 WCs:
98 – Chris Gayle (West Indies) vs India, Bridgetown, 2010
94* – Lorcan Tucker (Ireland) vs Oman, Colombo (SSC), 2026
92 – Rohit Sharma (India) vs Australia, Gros Islet, 2024
88 – Chris Gayle (West Indies) vs Australia, The Oval, 2009
86* – Aiden Markram (South Africa) vs New Zealand, Ahmedabad, 2026, Tonight*
85 – Kane Williamson (New Zealand) vs Australia, Dubai (DICS), 2021
Aiden Markram (South Africa Captain): "(On winning the game and about the batting innings) Yeah, for sure! It is important to acknowledge the fact that we got on the right side of the toss. The ball came quite nicely onto the bat later in the second innings. But having said that, the boys had to put up a massive effort, specifically with the ball, to restrict them to what they did was a really good effort.
(About the fightback with the ball in the powerplay) I think that is the key. You have to keep your nerves and back your skills, which you are good at. Ultimately, it comes down to your performance on the given day. Finn Allen and Tim Seifert are a very dangerous pair. They are very intimidating as well, but yeah, the boys followed with their plans very well.
(About Marco Jansen) Yeah, big time. Very different left arm. Really, really tall, of course and bowls different types of deliveries, which is a big strength for him and a big strength for us as well. So, good luck. He's been bowling pretty well. His form maybe hasn't got the numbers that show or match that. And he had to take four poles for us tonight and sort of keep raking partnerships for us throughout the middle there and then sort of come back in. It was really important as well.
(About his own knock) Yeah, I mean, it is nice. Ultimately, just trying to get the team off to a good start. I think we've got quite a set and experienced batting order. There's a lot of power, and it's a lot of managing it through, and through the right phases, I guess. But up front, you see how teams are taking on the power play, and we'll be sitting up to try that. It's not always going to come off, but when it does come off, at least we feel like we can get ahead of the game."
Mitchell Santner (New Zealand captain): "(Reflections on the game) Well played to South Africa. Wickets in the powerplay, when were bowling was the key. I think the way they put us under pressure at the start, we were always one wicket too many down at every stage. That partnership between Daryl and Chappy brought us back, but then some good bowling took us to 175. It was a little bit under par. It was a little bit sticky and a little bit spinny. A better powerplay with the ball and we could have been right in it.
(Adjusting to different venues) We pride ourselves on that. Every team has to do that. Whether it is different grounds in India, or Super8s in Sri Lanka, if we get there. So, you have to be adapting all the way through. Communication between batters and bowlers are the key. (Things to improve) We were put under pressure against very good batters. It is about finding ways to get out of overs. The only way to slow good teams down is by picking wickets in the powerplay.
(Prep coming into this tournament) We had a good series against India. We were challenged a lot. We know how good they are in these conditions. So, that was a good prep. (Playing against teams that you have not played before) It is a challenge. We play South Africa a lot. So we know about them. For Canada, we will have to do a lot of video scanning. There are no easy games in this tournament."
Highest Individual Score vs New Zealand in T20 WCs:
89* – Justin Kemp (South Africa), Durban, 2007
86* – JP Duminy (South Africa), Chattogram, 2014
86* – Aiden Markram (South Africa), Ahmedabad, 2026, Tonight*
Highest Match Aggregate for South Africa vs New Zealand in T20Is:
357 Runs, Harare, 2025
353 Runs, Ahmedabad, 2026, Tonight*
347 Runs, Hamilton, 2012
Most Matches vs a single opposition without a win in T20 WCs:
6 – Bangladesh vs Australia
6 – Bangladesh vs Pakistan
5 – Bangladesh vs India
5 – New Zealand vs South Africa*
Highest Individual Scores vs New Zealand in T20 WCs:
89* – Justin Kemp (South Africa), Durban, 2007
86* – JP Duminy (South Africa), Chattogram, 2014
86* – Aiden Markram (South Africa), Ahmedabad, 2026, Tonight*