After surviving a mighty Afghan scare by the barest of margins, South Africa left nothing to probability in its seven-wicket demolition of New Zealand, persevering with its unbeaten run within the T20 World Cup on the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday.
A virtually 55,000-strong weekend crowd roared as skipper Aiden Markram smashed the Kiwi pacers throughout the park within the PowerPlay to ignite South Africa’s 176-run pursuit. By the point his opening associate, Quinton de Kock, was undone by Lockie Ferguson’s slower one within the fifth over, the duo had trimmed the goal by greater than a 3rd.
Markram raised a 19-ball fifty with a six down the bottom to get the gang on its ft and took his staff over the road with 17 balls to spare.
It was a near-perfect day for Markram. He had referred to as for extra self-discipline from his bowlers, and so they promptly responded. The in-form Lungi Ngidi missed his strains within the PowerPlay, and Finn Allen punished him with three fours and a six within the third over. However the Proteas discovered one other hero within the lanky Marco Jansen, who bought the harmful Tim Seifert to nick behind with a brief supply after the batter had flat-batted him for a six over long-on.
It was an evening of prompt redemption for Jansen. After Rachin Ravindra scooped him for a six, Jansen shortened his size, and the left-hander edged to a diving David Miller at brief third-man. Three deliveries later, Jansen deceived Allen with a slower one to assert his third scalp contained in the PowerPlay.
Because the Kiwis rebuilt by means of Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell’s 74-run fifth-wicket stand, Jansen made a vital incision once more. His slower supply induced a deadly vanguard from Chapman. From there, the Kiwis might solely eke out 37 runs within the final six overs and have been all the time falling brief.
Temporary Scores
New Zealand 175/7 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 31, Mark Chapman 48, Daryl Mitchell 32, Marco Jansen 4/40) misplaced to South Africa 178/3 in 17.1 overs (Aiden Markram 86 n.o.). Toss: South Africa. PoTM: Marco Jansen.
Revealed on Feb 14, 2026