Ahmedabad, Feb 14 (IANS) Skipper Aiden Markram struck an unbeaten half-century after pacer Marco Jansen had rattled New Zealand with a career-best 4-40 as South Africa romped to a seven-wicket victory in Match 24 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Jansen bowled brilliantly for his career-best figures and set up with victory with a three-wicket burst in the Power-play and then got the dangerman Marck Chapman (48) for a four-fer as South Africa fought back to restrict New Zealand to 175/7 in 20 overs after inserting the BlackCaps in to bat first in the Group D clash on a wicket that gave some assistance to the pacers.
Markram then hammered an unbeaten 86 off 44 balls, hitting eight fours and four sixes, and shared crucial partnerships with Quinton de Kock (20), Ryan Rickelton (21), and David Miller (24 not out) as South Africa reached 178/7 in 17.1 overs as they romped to a seven-wicket win with 17 balls to spare.
This is South Africa’s third win in three matches, and they are perched at the top of Group D with sixpoints. New Zealand are second with four points from two wins, while the UAE are third with one win from two games. Afghanistan and Canada have lost both their matches and have yet open their account.
The breezy win also boosted South Africa’s Net Run Rate, while New Zealand lost some advantage in this department too.
Chasing 176 for victory, Markram started in whirlwind fashion, starting with back-to-back boundaries off Matt Henry in the first over and followed it up with a six and four from the first two balls of the next over, bowled by Lockie Ferguson.
Two glorious sixes and two fours by Markram in the third over, bowled by Jacob Duffy further propelled the South African innings as they posted 83/1, their joint-highest Power-play score in a men’s T20 World Cup.
He lost his partner Quinton de Kock (20) after they had added 62 runs for the opening partnership and raised 40 runs for the second wicket with Rickelton (21 off 14). But Markram continued his assault on the New Zealand bowling, capitalising on the conditions that had eased up a bit because of dew.
Markram, who was dropped by Ferguson off his own bowling, raced to his fifty off 19 balls (6 x 4, 4 x 6) and though he slowed down a bit after losing Dewald Brevis (21 off 17), South Africa were never in trouble. David Miller (24 off 17 sealed a well-deserved victory with a six in the first ball of the 18th over. Markram struck
Earlier, Jansen rattled the New Zealand top order, claiming two wickets within three balls as the BlackCaps were left struggling at 58/3 at the end of the Power-play. Jansen made the breakthrough by getting Tim Seifert to edge one behind to keeper Quinton de Kock for 13 with the score reading 33/1. He then landed two more telling blows, sending back the struggling Rachin Ravindra (13 off 8) to edge one that nipped away, and David Miller effected a sharp catch at short-third. It became 53/3 within three balls in the sixth over when Finn Allen, who had raced to 31 off 17 balls (4×4, 2×6), played uppishly in an attempt to go over the top of the in-fielders and skipper Markram grabbed a good catch.
Things became worse for New Zealand when Keshav Maharaj accounted for Glenn Phillips, who inside-edged one onto his stumps through the huge bat-pad gap. New Zealand were 64/4 in the seventh over and in a precarious position.
However, Mark Chapman and Daryll Mitchell repaired the innings with a 74-run partnership for the fifth wicket, scoring at a fast clip as they went at the bowling despite the pressure created by the Proteas. Chapman was looking good for a half-century but became Jansen’s fourth victim of the day as he foxed the batter with a well-disguised slower one. Chapman attempted to hit him out, but could only manage to offer a catch to Ryan Rickelton. He scored 48 off 26 balls, hitting six fours and two sixes.
Mitchell fell for 32 off 24 balls (2×4, 1×6) before offering a catch to Tristan Stubbs off Lungi Ngidi. New Zealand suffered another wobble when skipper Mitchell Santner departed for a 10-ball four as New Zealand slumped to 145/7 in the 17th over.
James Neesham struck an unbeaten 23 off 5 balls, including two boundaries in the final over, and added a quick 30 runs for the unfinished eighth-wicket partnership with Matt Henry (9 not out off 8) as New Zealand reached a defendable total.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 175/7 in 20 overs (Mark Chapman 48, Daryl Mitchell 32, Finn Allen 31, James Neesham 23 not out; Marco Jansen 4-40) lost to South Africa 178/3 in 17.1 overs (Aiden Markram 86 not out, David Miller 24 not out; James Neesham 1-15, Lockie Ferguson 1-33) by seven wickets
–IANS
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