New Delhi, March 1 – Dewald Brevis top-scored with 42 as South Africa overcame a brilliant spell from Sikandar Raza to defeat Zimbabwe by five wickets in their 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup Super Eights clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing 154, South Africa were initially stunned by Raza, who dismissed Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram within the first three overs. Ryan Rickelton briefly countered with three sixes before being dismissed, leaving the Proteas in a precarious position at 43/3.
Brevis then took control, smashing two fours and four sixes in his 18-ball 42 to shift the momentum back in South Africa's favour. David Miller joined in with a flurry of boundaries, but Zimbabwe continued to strike back, with Blessing Muzarabani and Raza dismissing both batsmen to keep the contest alive.
Raza finished with figures of 3-29, adding to his impressive 73 with the bat, but South Africa's batting depth proved decisive. George Linde (30 not out) and Tristan Stubbs (21 not out) guided the Proteas to victory with 13 balls to spare. This result means that South Africa head into their semi-final against New Zealand in Kolkata as the only unbeaten team in the tournament.
Key statistics from the South Africa vs. Zimbabwe match:
73: This was Sikandar Raza's score against South Africa, which is the highest individual score made by any Zimbabwean captain in the T20 World Cup. Raza surpassed the record of Brendan Taylor, who scored 59 against Ireland in Sylhet in 2014. Overall, it was his second-best score in a T20 World Cup. His previous best was 82 against Ireland in Hobart in 2022.
17: This is the number of half-centuries scored by Sikandar Raza (73) in 133 matches. This was his second half-century against South Africa in 4 matches.
10: Quinton de Kock failed to get off to a good start. This was his 10th duck in 109 T20I matches. His first duck was against Zimbabwe in their four matches.
8: South Africa has won 8 matches against Zimbabwe in T20Is in 9 encounters. One match ended in a no-result due to bad weather.
First: Sikandar Raza, the Zimbabwean captain, who scored 73 and took 3/29, became the first all-rounder from his side to achieve this feat. Overall, he is now the 5th all-rounder to score 50 or more and take 3 or more wickets in a T20 World Cup match. Shane Watson of Australia has achieved this feat twice; Dwayne Bravo and Roston Chase (WI), Marcus Stoinis (Aus) are the other all-rounders who have scored 50 plus and taken 3 or more wickets in a T20 World Cup match.
16: This is the number of victories achieved by South Africa under the leadership of Aiden Markram in 16 matches in the T20 World Cup. After MS Dhoni of India (21 victories in 33 matches), Markram is the second most successful captain in the T20 World Cup.
