Published: March 1, 2026 at 8:04 pm
Hoping to cap off a memorable ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a win, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza produced a brilliant all-round show, scoring 73 runs and claiming three wickets against South Africa in New Delhi on Sunday.
However, it was not enough to halt the South African juggernaut. After restricting Zimbabwe to 153 for 7, the Proteas chased down the target in 17.5 overs, completing a five-wicket win to extend their unbeaten run at the tournament. Having wrapped up the Super Eight stage, South Africa will next face New Zealand in the semifinals in Kolkata on Wednesday.
“Some good things to take and very grateful for the win as well. It’s tricky but the least you can do is give opportunities to the guys who have been working hard behind the scenes. You never know if you’re going to use them, but now they have experience under their belt. From a batting POV, we’ll take what we can from it. It’s exciting. Really exciting – a semifinal in Kolkata against New Zealand. The boys will be up for it. It’s still 40 overs of good cricket needed and we need to give it that respect,” said South Africa skipper Aiden Markram.
Raza shines with bat and ball
Electing to bat first, Zimbabwe had stepped out with intent and scored 13 runs in the first over. But South Africa packed off both the openers inside the first five overs. Coming in at 28 for 2, the experienced Raza held the innings together even as Zimbabwe kept losing wickets at regular intervals. In a knock studded with four sixes and eight fours, Raza scored 73 off 43 balls.
He built 38-run partnership with Dion Myers for the third wicket, and 39-run stand with Clive Madande to provide some much-needed solidity. Madande’s cameo of 26 not out took Zimbabwe to 153 for 7 in 20 overs.
With South Africa deciding to rotate the team, they brought in Anrich Nortje and Kwena Maphaka in place of Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen. And both the bowlers delivered wickets in their first overs. Not only did Maphaka provide the first breakthrough, but he finished with the best figures on the day for South Africa with 2 for 21 in four overs.
Lungi Ngidi became South Africa’s highest wicket taker in T20s after trapping Ryan Burl lbw, overtaking Tabraiz Shamsi’s tally of 89 wickets.
Defending a target of 154, Zimbabwe made early inroads, dismissing both the Proteas openers inside the first three overs. After a star turn with the bat, captain Raza (3 for 29) spearheaded with the ball as well. Quinton De Kock fell trying to cut Raza and ended up nicking the ball to wicketkeeper Tadiwanashe Marumani. Meanwhile, Aiden Markram was done in with a ball that stayed too low and crashed into his stumps.
Ryan Burl then made his presence felt in the field as he took two brilliant catches to send back Ryan Rickelton (31) and Dewald Brevis (42). From 43 for 3 in powerplay, South Africa made a recovery through Brevis and David Miller who built a 50-run partnership in just 25 balls. Not one to back down from a challenge, Brevis answered fire with fire, hitting two fours and four sixes during his innings to snatch the momentum from Zimbabwe.
Not perfect batting but SA cruise
It was not a pitch-perfect batting display by South Africa, but they did enough on the day. George Linde (30 not out) and Tristan Stubbs (21) made sure there wasn’t any more damage as they took the team across the finish line at 154 for 5 with over two overs to spare.
“My immediate reflection is that I shouldn’t be here! I’ve never got a man of the match for losing a game. We took a bit of a beating in the last two games but each beating came with valuable lessons. We take these valuable lessons, go home and hopefully come back strong and better. I thought 180 would be par on that wicket because it was slightly on the skinny, low side. I thought maybe 170, 175 would be a very good total on that wicket. True to that, if we got to that, I thought it would be a very interesting game. Without the wickets or the runs, if the leader stands up it gives a lot of confidence to the team,” said Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza.
Brief scores: Zimbabwe 153 for seven in 20 overs (Sikandar Raza 73, Clive Madande 26 not out; Kwena Maphaka 2/21, Corbin Bosch 2/40) lost to South Africa 154 for five in 17.5 overs (Ryan Rickelton 31, Dewald Brevis 42, David Miller 22, Tristan Stubbs 21 not out, George Linde 30 not out; Sikandar Raza 3/29).
