South Africa crushed the West Indies by 9 wickets in their second Super 8s match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. In the fixture played at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Thursday (February 26),
South Africa chased down the target of 177 runs in 16.1 overs for the loss of only one wicket. Captain Aiden Markram scored a brilliant half-century (82 from 46 balls; 7 fours, 4 sixes) for the Proteas, wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock played a knock of 47 runs from just 24 balls (4 fours, 4 sixes) and No. 3 batter Ryan Rickelton remained unbeaten on 45 runs from 28 balls (5 fours, 2 sixes).
South Africa’s win over the West Indies is good news for Team India, as now, if Suryakumar Yadav’s men manage to win their remaining two Super 8 matches against Zimbabwe and the West Indies, then they will qualify for the semifinals.
Qualification scenarios for India?
- Win both their remaining Super 8 matches against Zimbabwe and West Indies (direct qualification, no NRR required)
- If India lose against Zimbabwe then they must defeat West Indies by big margin and hope Zimbabwe suffer big defeat against South Africa (qualification will depend on NRR)
- India will get knocked out if they lose against the West Indies or if Zimbabwe win both their remaining matches.
India’s second Super 8s match against Zimbabwe is scheduled to take place at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on February 26, and on March 1, India will take on the West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
With South Africa’s win over the West Indies in Chennai on Thursday, India’s equation is clear. They don’t need to depend on the net run rate (NRR) to finish in the top two and qualify for semifinals if they win the next two matches.
Super 8s Group 1 points table after South Africa-West Indies match
| POSITION | TEAM | MATCHES | WINS | DEFEATS | NO RESULT | POINTS | NRR |
| 1. | South Africa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +2.890 |
| 2. | West Indies | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +1.791 |
| 3. | India | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -3.800 |
| 4. | Zimbabwe | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -5.350 |
India will remain alive in the semifinals race even if they lose against Zimbabwe in Chennai on Thursday. But in that case, they have to hope that South Africa beat Zimbabwe in Delhi on Sunday and then they crush the West Indies team in Kolkata.
In such a scenario, India, the West Indies and Zimbabwe will finish the Super 8s stage with 2 points each, and the team with the better net run rate between them will qualify for the semifinals along with South Africa.
Had South Africa suffered a defeat against the West Indies on Thursday, then the match against Zimbabwe would have become a do-or-die game for India. Because a defeat against the African team led by Sikandar Raza would have knocked India out of the semifinals race.
