New Delhi, March 1 – South Africa advanced to the semi-finals of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup after defeating Zimbabwe by five wickets in their Super Eights clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, thanks to an outstanding performance from Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza.
Raza scored a brilliant 73 off 43 balls, helping Zimbabwe reach 153/7 before returning to take 3-29, including two wickets in the powerplay, putting South Africa under pressure at 43/3. Dewald Brevis then stabilized the innings with a blistering 42 off 18 balls, hitting four sixes and two fours to shift the momentum back to the Proteas.
David Miller contributed 22 quickly, while Blessing Muzarabani and Raza took a wicket each to keep Zimbabwe in contention. South Africa's lower order then sealed the victory, with George Linde finishing unbeaten on 30 alongside Tristan Stubbs on 21, allowing the Proteas to win by 13 balls to spare. This win ensures South Africa progresses to the semi-finals in Kolkata, where they will face New Zealand as the only undefeated team in the tournament.
During the match, Raza dominated the innings with his exceptional timing and placement of shots, scoring 12 of Zimbabwe’s 13 boundaries in the first 17 overs. Apart from Raza, only Clive Madande offered some resistance with an unbeaten 26 off 20 balls.
South Africa’s bowlers, led by Kwena Maphaka (2-21) and Corbin Bosch (2-40), kept the rest of the Zimbabwe team under control. Tadiwanashe Marumani initially entertained the crowd with a one-handed reverse sweep, but he was dismissed by Kwena Maphaka.
Brian Bennett then impressed with his lofted shots off Linde and Lungi Ngidi, but Anrich Nortje dismissed him with a 145.8 kph delivery. Dion Myers faced a stern challenge from Maphaka, but was eventually dismissed by him.
Raza then set the tone for the innings with a streaky drive that went past backward point for four off Corbin Bosch. He followed this with six and four off Bosch, as Zimbabwe closed the powerplay at 45/2. Nortje then returned and dismissed Raza with a four and six, before he also dismissed Aiden Markram with the same score.
However, Raza continued to score, driving a slower ball from Nortje through extra cover for four, followed by another drive off Ngidi for four, and a full toss from Bosch through the same region for a boundary.
The crowd erupted when Raza pulled a short ball from Maphaka over mid-wicket for six, while Clive Madande also contributed with a four off Bosch. But Raza’s innings ended when he was caught by cover after being surprised by a cutter from Maphaka.
With 150 plus runs required, South Africa’s chase got off to a bad start when Quinton de Kock was dismissed by a slower ball from Raza, who then dismissed Aiden Markram for just four runs.
Ryan Rickelton then launched a counter-attack, hitting Raza for six, before being struck by a ball from Brad Evans. Rickelton then managed to hit three boundaries, before being dismissed by Ryan Burl at deep midwicket.
Dewald Brevis then started strongly with a backfoot punch off Raza for four, followed by two trademark no-look sixes off Graeme Cremer and a drive off Blessing Muzarabani for four. David Miller joined the fun with back-to-back sixes and a four off Wellington Masakadza, before he and Brevis took a four and six off Muzarabani to bring up the fifty of the partnership in quick time.
Zimbabwe then clawed back, with Muzarabani removing Miller, and Raza dismissing Brevis with a high return to long-on, where Burl completed a sharp catch.
With 51 runs needed off 54 balls, George Linde then hit six off Cremer, before he and Tristan Stubbs rotated the strike to inch closer to the target, despite a yorker from Brian Bennett and Ryan Burl. Linde then hit two boundaries through backward square leg off Bennett and Ryan Burl, as the Proteas sealed victory to continue their unbeaten run in the tournament.
Final Scores: Zimbabwe 153/7 in 20 overs (Sikandar Raza 73, Clive Madande 26 not out; Kwena Maphaka 2-21, Corbin Bosch 2-40) lost to South Africa 154/5 in 17.5 overs (Dewald Brevis 42, Ryan Rickelton 31; Sikandar Raza 3-29, Brad Evans 1-22) by five wickets
