New Zealand’s James Neesham celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton during an ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 cricket match between New Zealand and South Africa, at Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad on February 14, 2026.
| Photo Credit: PTI
After surviving a mighty Afghan scare by the barest of margins, South Africa left nothing to chance in its seven-wicket demolition of New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday (February 14, 2026). The result extended the Proteas’ winning run in the T20 World Cup.
A 55,000-strong weekend crowd roared as skipper Aiden Markram smashed the Kiwi pacers all around the park in the PowerPlay to ignite South Africa’s 176-run pursuit. By the time his opening partner, Quinton de Kock, was undone by Lockie Ferguson’s slower one in the fifth over, the duo had trimmed the target by more than a third.
Markram (86 n.o., 44b, 8×4, 4×6) raised a 19-ball half-century with a six down the ground to get the crowd on its feet and took his team over the line with 17 balls to spare.
It was a near-perfect day for Markram. He had called for more discipline from his bowlers, and they responded for the best part of the New Zealand innings.
The in-form Lungi Ngidi missed his lines in the PowerPlay, and Finn Allen punished him with three fours and a six in the third over. But the Proteas found another hero in the lanky Marco Jansen (4 for 40).
The left-arm pacer got the dangerous Tim Seifert to nick behind with a short delivery after the opener had flat-batted him for a six over long-on. It was a night of instant redemption for Jansen. After Rachin Ravindra scooped him for a six, Jansen shortened his length, and the southpaw edged to a diving David Miller at short third-man.
Three deliveries later, the 25-year-old deceived Allen with a slower one to claim his third scalp inside the PowerPlay.
As the Kiwis rebuilt through Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell’s 74-run fifth-wicket stand, Jansen made a crucial incision again.
His slower delivery induced a leading edge from Chapman. From there, the Kiwis could only eke out 37 runs in the last six overs and fell way short.
The scores: New Zealand 175/7 in 20 overs (Finn Allen 31, Mark Chapman 48, Daryl Mitchell 32, Marco Jansen 4/40) lost to South Africa 178/3 in 17.1 overs (Aiden Markram 86 n.o.).
Toss: South Africa. PoM: Jansen.
Teams:
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi.
Published – February 14, 2026 07:01 pm IST
