New Zealand vs South Africa Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026: Aiden Markram’s captain’s knock leads South Africa to 7-wicket win

Lockie Ferguson to Quinton de Kock, Nearly trickled back onto the stumps! Ferguson spots Quinton back away and he tries to follow him. It comes out as a low full toss, de Kock has a swing across the line. Gets an inside edge onto the pads and the ball sneaks past the leg stump before going towards the keeper.

Lockie Ferguson to Quinton de Kock, Full at pace and honing in at the sticks, clipped to mid-wicket.

Lockie Ferguson to Quinton de Kock, A big swing and a miss! Ferguson steams in from around the wicket and begins with an off-pace ball, on a good length, outside off. Quinton puts his head down and swings through but fails to connect.

Will New Zealand deploy early spin? Not yet. Lockie Ferguson returns into the attack. 1-0-18-0 so far, and he replaces Jacob Duffy.

Matt Henry to Quinton de Kock, Slower one, on a good length, on off, de Kock punches it wide of cover for one.

Matt Henry to Quinton de Kock, SIX! More of the top edge, but Quinton de Kock will take it. A well-directed short ball, at the bodyline of the batter. Quinton pivots to take the short ball on. He fails to get on top of it but goes through with the hook. Gets a top edge that sails over the deep fine leg fence for a six.

Matt Henry to Quinton de Kock, Pace off by Henry, on a back of a length, outside off. Quinton flashes hard at it but the ball kicks up a bit to go over the blade.

Matt Henry to Quinton de Kock, FOUR! Pulled away! Henry bangs it in short but the height does not trouble the batter at all. It is under the left armpit. Quinton swivels on the back foot and pulls it hard behind square. He beats the diving Rachin Ravindra in the deep for a four.

Matt Henry to Quinton de Kock, Good work! Angling across off, on a good length, Quinton cuts it hard but James Neesham dives to his left at backward point and saves at least a couple of runs for his side.

Matt Henry to Quinton de Kock, Lowish full toss, outside off, Quinton toe-ends the drive to cover.

Change of ends for Matt Henry. Went for 13 runs off the first over. He replaces Lockie Ferguson.

Jacob Duffy to Aiden Markram, FOUR! Easy pickings! 20 runs off the over. South Africa have raced to 51 in 3 overs. Duffy sprays it on the pads, on a length, Markram glances it fine of the man at short fine leg for another boundary.

Jacob Duffy to Aiden Markram, On a length, angled in at the pads. Markram looks to whip it away but misses and gets rapped on the front pad.

Jacob Duffy to Aiden Markram, FOUR! Off the edge! The runs keep flowing. Duffy follows Markram with a hard-length delivery. Aiden gets his hands high to punch it away. Gets an outside edge that races fine of short third for a boundary.

Jacob Duffy to Aiden Markram, SIX! Aiden Markram is putting on a show here! Duffy hits the deck hard, over middle and leg. Markram rises with the bounce and just launches it on the up towards wide long on for a biggie.

Jacob Duffy to Aiden Markram, SIX! Effortless hit! Off-cutter, fuller and angled in, on middle and leg. Markram presents the full face of the blade and just holds his shape. Lofts it over the man at mid on for a six.

A completely contrasting start for both sides. South Africa are 31/0 in 2 overs. At the same stage, New Zealand were 9/0. And bowler number 3 in the third over for New Zealand. Jacob Duffy replaces Matt Henry.

Jacob Duffy to Aiden Markram, Duffy bowls it on a back of a length, outside off. The width is there for Aiden to cash in but he goes a bit too hard at the ball. Ends up chopping it down on the off side.

Lockie Ferguson to Aiden Markram, Dipping slower ball, on the fuller side. Markram clips it off the legs in front of mid-wicket. A bit of hesitation, but the batters eventually go through. 18 runs off the 2nd over, South Africa are off to a flying start.

Lockie Ferguson to Quinton de Kock, Good cricket! Ferguson delivers it on a back of a length, on off. De Kock drops it with soft hands beside the strip on the off side and scampers through for a quick run.

Lockie Ferguson to Quinton de Kock, FOUR! Beautiful! Ferguson bowls it on a length, outside off, Quinton transfers the weight onto the front foot and creams the drive through extra cover for a four.

Lockie Ferguson to Quinton de Kock, Wide! Lockie switches to around the wicket and sprays it down leg. Quinton de Kock swings to play the pick-up shot but misses. A good diving take to his right by Tim Seifert.

Lockie Ferguson to Aiden Markram, Hurls it on a hard length, over off, Aiden stands tall and steers it behind point for a single.

Lockie Ferguson to Aiden Markram, FOUR! No slip and it races away! Tailing back in, on a good length, in line with the off pole. Markram pushes out in front of his body with a straight bat. The ball holds its line and Markram is squared up. Gets an outside edge that goes to the left of short third for a four. Don't think it would have carried if there had been a slip.

Lockie Ferguson to Aiden Markram, SIX! Shot of the night! Ferguson errs in line and length, a bit of shape back in. Markram gets the width to free his arms and he extends his hands into the lofted drive. Plays it over cover and picks up a six.

Lockie Ferguson to operate from the opposite end.

Matt Henry to Quinton de Kock, Across off, on a good length, Quinton stabs it to backward point. 13 runs off the first over of the chase.

Matt Henry to Quinton de Kock, FOUR! Uppish but wide enough! Matt pitches it up, on middle. Quinton pushes out in front of his body and just checks his drive. The ball flies past the outstretched right hand and the umpire gets out of the firing line in time. The mid off fielder gives chase but in vain. De Kock brings up 3,000 T20I runs. He becomes the first South African to reach this landmark, as informed by Simon Doull on air.

Matt Henry to Aiden Markram, Henry drags the length back, on middle. Markram taps it with a straight bat in front of mid on and pinches a quick single.

Matt Henry to Aiden Markram, FOUR MORE! Lovely! This is fuller than the previous ball, around off. Aiden leans into the drive and plays a punchy drive between cover and mid off for another boundary.

Matt Henry to Aiden Markram, FOUR! Aiden Markram is off and running, as are South Africa. A bit of away shape, on a length, fractionally wide. Markram cracks the drive on the up and it races through covers for the first boundary of the chase.

Matt Henry to Aiden Markram, Henry is on the money straight away! A bit of nip back, on a good length, on off and middle. Markram defends it right under his eyes.

Welcome back for South Africa's reply with the bat. The players of New Zealand take their respective fielding spots. Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock are the two South African openers, making their way to the crease. Matt Henry has the new ball and is raring to go. Captain Markram to face. A slip in place. Here we go again!

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Enough on the board? 176 it is for the Proteas to keep their spotless record intact against the Kiwis in the T20 World Cups. The Kiwis would get a feeling that they are 15-20 runs short. And with the dew starting to settle in, gripping the ball and controlling lengths could get increasingly tricky for the bowlers. But with the last six T20Is at Ahmedabad won by the teams setting the total and the highest successful chase being 165, it is all set for a gripping run chase.

Recovery on, squeeze back on - South Africa, well-tuned to the surface by now, mixed their pace cleverly and kept chipping away at momentum. Still, Mitchell found support in Mark Chapman, and together they stitched a steady 74-run stand that pulled things back from the brink. Just when New Zealand looked set to launch for a big finish, South Africa tightened the screws at the right time. Dot balls stacked up and the pressure climbed. Both set batters fell in quick time, and the innings dipped again from 138/4 to 145/7.

Early jitters - True bounce, lovely carry, and the ball flying off the blade. It looked like a batting dream. New Zealand began well with Finn Allen finding early rhythm, but Marco Jansen arrived and flipped the momentum instantly, striking thrice in the Powerplay. The wobble turned into a proper stumble when Keshav Maharaj sent Phillips back, dragging things from 57/1 to 64/4. Enter the usual firefighter, Daryl Mitchell, tasked with damage control yet again. Even with wickets falling, the Kiwis batted at a fair clip, reaching 92/4 at the halfway mark.

The Proteas excel with the ball - Despite the last two overs going for 20 runs, the South Africans would definitely feel that they have done a pretty good job bowling-wise. Almost every bowler hit their marks, and it was backed up by sharp fielding that kept the pressure firmly on throughout. New Zealand lost a bit too many wickets going towards the backend, which prevented them from getting a perfect lift for a big finish. 

Corbin Bosch to James Neesham, FOUR MORE! James Neesham goes back-to-back at the end. Bosch misses his mark by a small margin. He allows Neesham to get under the ball and pays the price with mid off being inside the circle. James hangs deep, collapses his back knee to find the elevation and lofts it over mid off. One bounce and over the ropes. A couple of 10-run overs at the end for the Kiwis. New Zealand finish with 175 on the board!

Corbin Bosch to James Neesham, FOUR! Neesham finally gets one away! Yorker gone wrong for Corbin. Low full toss, on off. Neesham crouches and swipes it behind square. Kagiso Rabada is quick across the turf in the deep to his left and dives. He gets a hand on it but it is not enough.

Corbin Bosch to Matt Henry, Low full toss, on middle and leg, Matt drills it to long on for just a single.

Corbin Bosch to James Neesham, Corbin slants it across, on a length, Neesham reaches out and hits towards wide mid off. This time, he takes the single.

Corbin Bosch to James Neesham, Fantastic stuff! Bosch nails the yorker, right at the toes. A bit of inward shape, Neesham gets the front leg out of the way and jams it back to the bowler.

Corbin Bosch to James Neesham, Bosch goes searching for the yorker but it comes out as a low full toss, on off. Neesham fails to get the elevation and powers it to long on. There is no possibility of coming back for the second run, so he turns down the single.

Final over coming up. Corbin Bosch (3-0-24-1) to wrap up.

Marco Jansen to James Neesham, Shortish ball, outside off, Neesham gets his hands high and drags the pull to wide long on. He retains the strike with a single. 10 runs off the over!

Marco Jansen to James Neesham, FOUR! Cleverly played! On a short of a good length, over off. Neesham premeditates as he walks across the stumps and scoops it between short fine leg and the keeper for a four.

Marco Jansen to Matt Henry, Full and around leg, Matt makes room and mows it square on the leg side for one more.

Marco Jansen to James Neesham, Bashes the surface, over middle. Neesham mistimes the pull to deep square leg and picks up a single.

Marco Jansen to James Neesham, Brilliant work! Full and angled at the sticks, Neesham whips it nicely between deep mid-wicket and long on. Dewald Brevis charges to his right and dives before knocking it towards the converging long on fielder. Two runs taken.