New Delhi: Sikandar Raza’s brilliant all-round performance went in vain as South Africa continued their unbeaten run in the T20 World Cup 2026 with a five-wicket win over Zimbabwe in a Super Eight match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
The Zimbabwe skipper was in inspired form with both bat and ball, but his brilliance was not enough for the team to sign off with a win in the penultimate Super 8 game of the marquee tournament. After opting to bat first in a packed stadium, Raza played a brilliant knock of 73 off 43 balls with the help of eight fours and three maximums to help Zimbabwe post 153 for 7 in 20 overs.
He continued to influence the game with the ball, dismissing Quinton de Kock (0) and Aiden Markram (4) in the power play before returning to dismiss a rampant Dewald Brevis. However, South Africa romped to win in the 18th over courtesy of two half-century partnerships in the middle order and head to Kolkata for their semifinal clash on a sensational unbeaten run in the tournament.
Ryan Rickleton shifted the momentum with a quickfire 31 before Brevis, and David Miller (22) continued the good work with a 23-ball 50-run stand in just 19 minutes.
Brevis put on a brutal hitting display in his 18-ball 42-run knock, studded with two boundaries and four sixes.
After both batters were dismissed in quick succession, George Linde (30*) and Tristan Stubbs (21*) added 53 runs for the sixth wicket to see their side through.
(More to follow)…