T20 World Cup: Can India ace South African challenge?
What's the story
India and South Africa will face off in Match 43 of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eights. The clash is set to take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, February 22, 2026. Both teams have been in stellar form, winning all their respective four group-stage matches. They now aim to extend their stellar run in the Super 8 stage. Here is the preview of the upcoming contest.
India's run
India's unbeaten run in the tournament
India's unbeaten streak in the tournament began with a 29-run win over the USA, followed by a massive 93-run victory against Namibia. They also beat Pakistan by 61 runs and Netherlands by 17 runs to finish at the top of Group A. Though there have been some loopholes in their campaign, the defending champions have managed to overcome them.
South Africa's dominance
South Africa's journey so far
South Africa's journey to the Super Eights was equally impressive. They began with a 57-run win over Canada, followed by a thrilling double Super Over victory against Afghanistan. The Proteas then comfortably chased down targets against New Zealand and defeated UAE with ease in their group-stage matches. This flawless performance has set up an exciting showdown against India in the Super Eights stage of the tournament.
Details
Pitch report and other details
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is known for its batting-friendly conditions. The large boundaries allow batters to score runs freely, but bowlers need to be careful with their lines and lengths. As the match will get underway at 7:00pm IST, dew can play an important part. Fans can catch all the action live on Star Sports Network and JioHotstar (App & Website).
H2H
Here's the head-to-head record
The two teams have clashed 35 times in T20Is, as per ESPNcricinfo. Team India has won 21 matches, with South Africa pocketing 13 wins (NR: 1). The two teams have clashed in seven T20 World Cup encounters since the inaugural edition (2007). While India have an edge with five wins, SA's only wins came in 2009 and 2022. On Indian soil, India have seven wins and a solitary defeat against SA (T20Is).
Team line-ups
Here are the probable XIs
India (Probable XI): Ishan Kishan(wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah. South Africa (Probable XI): Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi.
Player spotlight
Key performers for India and South Africa
For India, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has been in great form, scoring 176 runs in four games at an average of 44.00. On the other hand, Varun Chakravarthy has been India's best bowler with nine wickets in four innings at an economy of 5.16. For South Africa, captain Aiden Markram has scored 178 runs at a strike rate of 187.36 after four innings. Lungi Ngidi has raced to eight wickets across three games in the ongoing edition at 11.37.
Poll
