T20 World Cup IND vs SA Super 8 LIVE: South Africa at 128/4 at 13 overs

Washington Sundar restricts Miller and Stubbs to scoring six singles on the pitch for the entire 14 overs.

Brevis starts the 13th over with a flying six, moving past a leaping Washington Sundar to cross the boundary. The next ball takes Brevis out of play as he attempts another shot past the boundary. However, Abhishek Sharma catches the ball, ending his play.

South Africa at 128/4 at 13 overs

Miller and Brevis maintain a steady partnership, taking South Africa to 111/3 in 12 overs.

Continuing his partnership with Brevis, a determined Miller scores two sixes and a four, taking South Africa to 73/3 after nine overs.

South Africa score 41/3 in 6 overs as Brevis and Miller attempt to create a long partnership after 3 wickets in the first four overs.

Rickelton strikes hard and high, but the ball lands into Dube’s hands. He goes out for 7 off 7 balls. David Miller steps in.

SA scores 20/3 in 4 overs.

Markram drives the ball to the boundary but is caught in its tracks by Pandya. Markram goes out with 4 off 7 balls. Dewald Brevis comes in at fourth place, hitting a six to end the over.

de Kock has been taken out of the game in the second over by Bumrah, scoring 6 runs.

Rickelton takes his place on the field.

Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram take the field to begin the Super 8 T20 World Cup match between South Africa and India. Arshdeep Singh will start the play for India.

India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

Aiden Markram says Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, and Keshav Maharaj come into the Playing XI. Meanwhile, India has named an unchanged playing XI.

As the defending champions, India prepare to take on South Africa in a high-octane Super Eight T20 World Cup clash, all eyes will be on left-handed batter Tilak Varma to finally bring his A-game in the tournament against an opposition he has thrived against historically.

After an underwhelming group stage with the bat, which saw him get a few starts but not be able to catch up and score big at a fine strike rate, Tilak will be aiming to make an absolute meal of the South African bowling attack. His numbers against the 2024 T20 WC runners-up suggest a special spot for Proteas bowlers as far as his cricket is concerned.

In 10 matches against South Africa, Tilak has scored 496 runs at an average of 70.85 and a strike rate of 163.15, with two centuries and two fifties and a best score of 120*. He has managed to stay unbeaten in three of the ten innings played against them.

- ANI

Reigning champion India begins its campaign with a rematch of the dramatic 2024 final against South Africa on Sunday, February 22, in Ahmedabad. India will then play Zimbabwe on Thursday, February 26, in Chennai, before taking on West Indies in its last Super Eight fixture on Sunday, March 1, in Kolkata.

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A couple of days ahead of a big game, a cricket reporter goes through a fixed plan of action. It usually involves attending press conferences, writing a preview based on your analytical skills, and covering topics such as the nature of the pitch, a fact-based breakdown of the teams, and a look at players with the X-factor. If you are lucky enough, you might bump into former cricketers or get them on a phone call for an exclusive interview that primarily focuses on their thoughts on the game and the star players involved.

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Tennis legend Rohan Bopanna wished “all the best” to the Indian cricket team for their super eight opener against South Africa in the T20 World Cup to be played at Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. India won all their matches in the group stage and finished at the top of the table in group A with 8 points. “I wish the Indian cricket team all the very best. It’s one of the biggest events when we play for India, and nothing bigger than the World Cup. The Indian team is doing fabulously well, and I wish them the very best today against South Africa. I’m sure they’ll do really well,” Bopanna told reporters. -- ANI

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has criticised India’s skipper Suryakumar Yadav for his slow batting in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Manjrekar praised Suryakumar’s 84-run knock in the tournament opener against the USA in Mumbai with his calibrated approach, but feels he really pulled down the shutters quite a lot after that, making it hard for Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh in the death over.

“There is something that I am seeing in Suryakumar Yadav which I’m not liking too much. 77-6, India against USA, at the Wankhede, and Suryakumar Yadav had to change his game, which he did brilliantly. Just slowed down a little bit, and then exploded, and got a great score, player of the match, and everything,” Manjrekar said on his Instagram page.

“Since then, I think he is taking that a bit too far. Against Pakistan, where India lost a couple of wickets, he really pulled down the shutters quite a lot. He and Tilak Varma are both playing slightly conservatively, and in the end, what happens is that people like Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Rinku Singh are not really tapped into resources as much,” he continued.

Manjrekar also said that it is dangerous in T20s, a senior or captain feeling like he must stay at the crease, especially when batting first and when chasing 200-plus totals, no top-order batter should try to “control” the innings and carry the team to a set score and believes such a mindset is dangerous. He also urged Surya to be careful about that.”

In T20 cricket, that is a dangerous thing to do, where a senior player or captain feels like he has got to stay in, especially while batting first. When you are setting targets of 200 plus, if you have somebody in the top four who believes that he is the guy who has got to control the innings and make sure he is the one who will take India to a certain score, that is a very dangerous tactic. No batter must think like that. So, Surya must be careful about that,” Manjrekar concluded. -- ANI

Four wins out of four, all achieved with a fair degree of comfort. Several tight spots, negotiated with common sense and intelligence, if not panache and outright flair. Numerous batters stepping up, several bowlers weighing in.

If that alone was what India’s progress card said at the end of their league campaign in the T20 World Cup, everything would have gone swimmingly. But even though Suryakumar Yadav’s men have taken their appointed place in the Super Eight, they haven’t been the dominant force of the last several months, which in a way is understandable.

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India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel stressed that there had been no discussion about Abhishek Sharma’s wretched run in the T20 World Cup so far.

Abhishek is yet to open his account in the tournament, and during Friday’s (February 20, 2026) training, the opener was seen spending considerable time with head coach Gautam Gambhir. The southpaw, who has been dismissed for a duck thrice, could face another big test when India takes on South Africa in its first Super Eight match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday (February 22, 2026).

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Quinton de Kock stressed that the recent flurry of T20Is between India and South Africa could add a twist to the T20 World Cup Super Eight game between the two teams.

“We will have a good game because we have played against each other quite a bit over the last two months. The teams haven’t really changed much. So I think it’s more about who deals with the pressure better and wins the small moments in the game,” said the South African opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Colombo on Saturday (February 21, 2026).

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In an age of instant judgment, an opener failing to open his account thrice may seem like a catastrophe, but Suryakumar Yadav strongly backed Abhishek Sharma. Addressing the media at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday (February 21, 2026), the Indian skipper effusively supported Abhishek.

“I worry for the people who are worried about Abhishek’s form. When he scores a run, you have seen what happens. The team has a requirement that the boy should play with his identity. If it happens, then it’s fine, if it doesn’t, then we are there to cover. Last year he covered for us, now we will cover for him,” Suryakumar said ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup clash against South Africa.

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It was only a couple of months back that South Africa played a white-ball series in India after blanking the home side in the preceding Test series. That T20I series was not only a good warm-up for the World Cup but also gave both teams an idea about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Don’t forget that South Africa are still smarting over that defeat in the World Cup final in Barbados in June 2024 and are thirsting for revenge.

India will be up against it if de Kock gets going

India faces a tough challenge against South Africa, especially if Quinton de Kock performs well in the match.

Much water has flowed down the Sabarmati since India and South Africa clashed at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad last December. Suryakumar Yadav’s men clinched that fifth T20I to seize the series at 3-1. Now at the same venue, the two units will square up against each other in the ICC T20 World Cup Super Eight Group 1 match on Sunday (February 22, 2026).

Having played three Group D games at Ahmedabad, South Africa is clued into the surface. Yet, this awareness may not negate the host’s advantage that India naturally has. The Men in Blue also played their last encounter here against Netherlands.

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