Ahmedabad: Skipper Aiden Markram led from the front with an unbeaten 82 as South Africa chased down a challenging target of 177 runs in just 16.1 overs for the loss of only one wicket and secured a nine-wicket win over the West Indies in their second match in Super 8s stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
With this win, the Proteas remain unbeaten in the ongoing tournament and have inched closer to officially confirming their semifinal berth. West Indies will have to face India in a do-or-die clash on Sunday to proceed to the next stage.
Earlier, former captain Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd helped the team make a strong comeback from a disastrous start as West Indies posted 176/8 in 20 overs.
Coming to chase a challenging total against a quality bowling attack, South Africa started the innings on a high note as both the openers, Markram and De Kock, scored 11 runs in the first over.
South Africa’s prime batters were looking in great touch and made good use of the powerplay by smashing the West Indies bowlers all around the ground. The team was 69 for no loss at the end of the power play.
West Indies finally got the breakthrough in the eighth over when Roston Chase trapped De Kock with a slower ball. De Kock scored 47 runs off just 24 balls and hammered four boundaries and four sixes during his magnificent innings.
De Kock’s wicket didn’t bring any relief to the two-time champions as Markram continued the attack. The skipper completed his fifty in just 27 balls and remained unbeaten at 82 with seven fours and four sixes to his name.
Ryan Rickleton also played a brilliant knock of 45 and remained unbeaten as South Africa completed the chase with balls remaining.
West Indies came to bat in the first innings after losing the toss. Their captain, Shai Hope, led the charge in the first over and hit 16 runs off just four balls against leg spinner Keshav Maharaj. The momentum continued in the second over as Brandon King smashed three consecutive fours against Marco Jansen.
However, the situation took a 360-degree turn in the third over as Africa’s prime bowler Rabada dismissed skipper Shai Hope (16) and in-form batter Shimron Hetmyer (2). Ngidi also followed with two wickets in the next over as West Indies reached 52/4 at the end of the powerplay.
Things didn’t change for the team after the powerplay as Corbin Bosch dismissed Sherfane Rutherford and Matthew Forde, while Ngidi sent captain Rovman Powell to the pavilion.
After a poor start, former captain Holder stood tall with Shepherd to take the team to a challenging total. The duo rescued the team with a magnificent partnership of 89 runs.
Shepherd completed his fifty in 37 balls. He remained unbeaten at 52. While Holder missed a well-deserved half-century. He got out on 49 in just 31 balls. Holder hit four boundaries and three sixes against South Africa.
Brief scores:
West Indies 176/8 in 20 overs (Romario Shepherd 52*, Jason Holder 49; Lungi Ngidi 3-30, Kagiso Rabada 2-22, Corbin Bosch 2-31) lost to South Africa 177/1 in 16.1 overs (Aiden Markram 82*, Quinton De Kock 47, Ryan Rickleton 45*; Roston Chase 1-46) by 9 wickets.
(IANS)
