South Africa Start T20 World Cup 2026 with Dominant 57-Run Win Over Canada
South Africa, who finished runners-up in the T20 World Cup 2024, started their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a strong 57-run win.
Batting first, South Africa scored a big 213/4 in 20 overs. Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock gave them a good start with a 70-run opening stand. Markram led the attack, scoring 59 runs from 32 balls, while de Kock added 25 from 22 balls.
Dewald Brevis failed to impress, departing for six off six balls, but Ryan Rickelton’s 33 off 21 kept the momentum going. Late cameos from David Miller (39*) and Tristan Stubbs (34*) at the death helped South Africa post a big total. Ansh Patel starred with the ball for Canada, claiming three wickets for 31 runs in his 4-over spell, while Dilpreet Bajwa celebrated a solitary wicket.
South Africa Begin T20 World Cup 2026 with Dominant 57-Run Win Over Canada
In reply, Canada got off to a shaky start as Lungi Ngidi trapped Dilpreet Bajwa for a golden duck on the very first ball of the innings. Yuvraj Samra struck three crisp boundaries, but Ngidi had the last laugh, dismissing him as well. Canada then lost Nicholas Kirton and Shreyas Movva cheaply inside the powerplay, with Ngidi accounting for three of the four wickets to fall in that phase.
Navneet Dhaliwal and Harsh Thaker came together in the middle to mount a rescue effort, adding 69 runs for the fifth wicket. However, the scoring rate wasn’t brisk enough to fuel a comeback, with the required run rate climbing past 17 an over by the 14th. Lungi Ngidi returned for his fourth over and dismissed Thaker for 33, breaking the partnership. Dhaliwal notched up his fifty and delivered a fine 64 runs off 49 balls before holing out in the deep in the final over of the match, and Canada were restricted to 156/8 in 20 overs.
Lungi Ngidi shone with the ball for South Africa, claiming four wickets for 31 runs in his four overs. Marco Jansen chipped in with a couple of wickets, while Kagiso Rabada and Corbin Bosch celebrated a solitary wicket.
