ICC T20 World Cup 2026 report, result, highlights

Aiden Markram scored an unbeaten 86 off 44 balls and Marco Jansen took 4-40 as South Africa beat New Zealand by seven wickets in their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 showdown at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.

Mark Chapman hit 48 off 26 deliveries as the Black Caps posted 175-7, only for the Proteas to extend their perfect record in style, including 50 off 19 balls from Markram.

South Africa are now on the verge of reaching the Super 8, while New Zealand remain in a strong position to advance.

T20 World Cup: Why Markram lauds Jansen for South Africa

Markram described Marco Jansen as a “very different” challenge for opposition teams. “[With his] left arm, [he’s] really tall and bowls different kinds of deliveries, which is a big strength for him and us,” Markram explained.

“We’ve got quite a set and experienced batting order. We’ve seen how teams are attacking the powerplay and it would be silly not to try that.

“It’s not always going to come off but it’s nice when it does. It’s important to acknowledge the fact we got on the right side of the toss.

“The ball came on nicely in the second innings but the boys still had to put in a good performance. That’s the key [against New Zealand] – you’ve got to try to keep your nerve.”

Mitch Santner on how New Zealand were ‘under pressure’

New Zealand captain Mitch Santner congratulated South Africa. “We were always one wicket down at every stage and the total was a bit below par,” he rued.

“You got to be adapting all the way through in this tournament, playing on different wickets in India and Sri Lanka.

“We were put under pressure in the powerplay. Against good teams, the only way to slow them down is by taking wickets in the powerplay. We started well but we came up against a good team today.”

New Zealand vs South Africa teams

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy

What’s next for these teams? South Africa, New Zealand T20 cricket World Cup fixtures

South Africa are next in World Cup action against the United Arab Emirates at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Wednesday (05:30 GMT).

That game starts 24 hours after New Zealand’s Group D decider against Canada begins at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

“We will do a lot of video analysis on Canada,” said Santner. “There are no easy games in this tournament and that will be the same against Canada.”

New Zealand ICC T20 World Cup 2026 squad

Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wk), Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi (Reserve: Ben Sears)

South Africa ICC T20 World Cup 2026 squad

Aiden Markram (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs