South Africa registered another emphatic win in the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2026 against West Indies by 9 wickets in Ahmedabad on Thursday. With this dominating victory, the Proteas have now moved inch closer to the semi-finals of the tournament.
Chasing 177 in 20 overs, South Africa rode on some brisk batting display from Aiden Markram, Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickleton to go over the line in just over 16th over. Markram top-scored with a quick-fire and an unbeaten 82 off 46 while De Kock hit 47 off 24. Rickleton chipped in with 45* off 28. Earlier, West Indies had put up 176/8 in 20 overs.
The Caribbean side was left tottering at 83/7 at one stage before Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd joined hands and provided the resistance to West Indies. They put 89 runs for the 8th wicket. Holder struck 49 off 31 while Shepherd remained not out at 52 off 37. But their efforts went in vain as South Africa eventually won the match.
How South Africa’s Win Will Help India?
After losing the first match against South Africa, India need to win both their Super 8 matches against Zimbabwe and West Indies respectively. But the Men in Blue also needed South Africa to beat West Indies and their win has give Suryakumar Yadav’s side a genuine chance.
The equation for the hosts is simple. If they win against Zimbabwe, their clash against West Indies will become a virtual quarter-final and the winner of that match will move ahead on the basis of points.
What if India Lose to Zimbabwe?
If Zimbabwe defeat India then the situation for the home side will be tricky. India will then have to defeat West Indies with a massive margin and hope that South Africa beat Zimbabwe. The three teams will be tied at two points each and the NRR will come into play. West Indies’ defeat against South Africa has dropped their NRR to +1.791.
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