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- SA vs ZIM Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026: South Africa beat Zimbabwe by 5 wickets
SA vs ZIM Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026: South Africa beat Zimbabwe by 5 wickets
Opting to bat, Zimbabwe suffered early setbacks, losing three wickets inside the powerplay. Tadiwanashe Marumani was bowled attempting an ambitious stroke, while Brian Bennett fell trying to clear mid-off. Amid the collapses, Raza counterattacked with authority. He struck Corbin Bosch for a towering six and repeatedly found the boundary, racing to a 29-ball half-century. His calculated aggression and clean hitting lifted Zimbabwe to 153 for seven, though regular wickets prevented a stronger finish.
South Africa’s chase began shakily as Raza struck twice early, removing Markram and de Kock. When he dismissed a blazing Dewald Brevis, who had smashed 42 off 18 balls, the Proteas were five down and under pressure. With uneven bounce complicating matters, Zimbabwe sensed an upset.
But Tristan Stubbs and George Linde absorbed the pressure expertly. Rotating strike and punishing loose deliveries, the pair ensured there were no further alarms, sealing victory with seven balls to spare.
While South Africa advanced unbeaten to face New Zealand in the semifinal, Zimbabwe exited the Super Eights without a win. Raza’s excellence highlighted Zimbabwe’s potential, but their lack of consistent power-hitting depth remains an area for growth.
Lungi Ngidi to Sikandar Raza, A dipping slower ball, around off, Sikandar Raza moves across the crease, takes it on the full and drills it to long on for a single.
Lungi Ngidi to Tony Munyonga, Varies his pace as he goes slow at just 117.2 kph, on a fuller length, outside off. Tony is early in his shot as he checks the drive, but ends up chipping it in the air, but in the cover and point gap for a single.
Lungi Ngidi to Tony Munyonga, BEATEN! A snorter from Ngidi. Zips through the deck, on a good length, outside off. Tony Munyonga's feet go nowhere and he tries to slash it away from his body, with no conviction and ends up getting beaten all ends up on the outside edge.
Ryan Burl departs and Tony Munyonga replaces him in the middle with the bat.
Lungi Ngidi to Ryan Burl, OUT! LBW! Zimbabwe keep losing wickets at regular intervals, and Raza is left stranded at the other end. Ngidi fires in a fuller ball which angles into the batter, from middle to leg. Ryan Burl gets across off and tries to flick it to the leg side, but plays over the line and misses to connect, wearing it on the front pad. Big appeal for LBW, and up goes the finger this time. Burl is a bit too reluctant, but he does opt for a review after having a word with his skipper. Nothing on the UltraEdge and the Ball Tracking shows three reds with the ball projected to crash into the leg stump. The on-field decision stays and Zimbabwe are now 82/4.
Lungi Ngidi to Ryan Burl, Touch full, angling on the pads, Burl nudges it through mid-wicket and they hare back for the second run.
- Sikandar Raza 42 (21)
- Ryan Burl 3 (3)
Aiden Markram to Sikandar Raza, Darted into the blockhole, Raza jams the bat down in the nick of time to squeeze it back to the bowler.
Aiden Markram to Sikandar Raza, Attempts to fire a yorker in at the off pole. Raza takes it on the full but punches it straight to extra cover.
Aiden Markram to Sikandar Raza, MISFIELD, FOUR! Maphaka could have done much better there. Tossed up on middle, Raza bends down to sweep. Maphaka charges in for the catch but gets caught in no man’s land as the ball drops just short of him, and he cannot stop it from running away to the boundary.
Aiden Markram to Sikandar Raza, SIX! Sails over the ropes! Dropped full and on leg, Sikandar Raza gets down on a knee and sweeps it using his wrists behind long leg for a six.
Aiden Markram to Sikandar Raza, An appeal for LBW, the umpire turns it down. Fired on a fuller length, around the leg stump line. Raza sits down to paddle sweep it, but plays all over it, wearing it on the front pad. A big appeal for LBW from Quinton de Kock, but the umpire stays put. Markram and Miller join the conversation and hang on, they have gone upstairs for a review. Looked to be pitching outside leg in real time, though. Nothing on UltraEdge, and the Ball Tracking reveals the ball is clearly pitching outside leg, and that too, by a long way. The on-field decision is upheld and South Africa burn a review.
Aiden Markram to Ryan Burl, Bowls from around the stump. Short, on off, Burl backs away in the crease and cuts it through the backward point and cover gap for a single.
Aiden Markram brings himself into the attack now.
- Ryan Burl 2 (2)
- Sikandar Raza 32 (16)
George Linde to Ryan Burl, Slowish delivery, full at 86.6 kph, on middle and leg, Burl flicks it along the ground to deep mid-wicket for a single. A successful over for the Proteas and Linde. Just three singles and a wicket from it.
George Linde to Sikandar Raza, Touch short, outside off, Raza crunches it off the back foot to deep point for a single.
George Linde to Sikandar Raza, Nagging length, sliding in with the arm, on the pads. Raza misses to whip it across and wears on the thigh pad.
George Linde to Ryan Burl, Too full, on off, carved away through mid off for a run.
End of a brewing partnership. In comes Ryan Burl at number 5.
George Linde to Dion Myers, OUT! STRAIGHT UP AND CAUGHT! Linde gets his first wicket and breaks the budding 38-run partnership. Linde slows it up a bit and drags the length by a few yards, but the line of attack stays on the stumps. Dion Myers gets down on his knee to slog it over deep mid-wicket, but fails to get under it properly and ends up top edging it to mid-wicket. Dewald Brevis hauls in from the ropes and settles under it to take a safe catch. Zimbabwe are 66/3 as a disappointed Dion Myers trudges off to the dugout.
George Linde to Dion Myers, Sees Dion advance and Linde fires in a full ball on middle. Myers tries to whip it to the leg side, but yorks himself, inside edging it to the front boot.
- Dion Myers 11 (14)
- Sikandar Raza 31 (14)
Anrich Nortje to Dion Myers, Hard length on off, Dion Myers punches this to long off for a run to end the over. An expensive one from Anrich Nortje.
Anrich Nortje to Dion Myers, Back of a length on leg, Dion Myers once again exposes his stumps and moves away to his leg. Pulls this through the left of mid-wicket for a couple as Tristan Stubbs does well to cut it off before the fence running to his right from long on.
Anrich Nortje to Dion Myers, On a length, slanting into the batter. Dion Myers backs away a bit and pushes this grounded to extra cover.
Anrich Nortje to Dion Myers, WIDE! On a length down the leg, Dion Myers leaves it. Wide given by the umpire.
Anrich Nortje to Sikandar Raza, Good length on leg, Sikandar Raza gets it away through mid-wicket and rotates the strike. 11 runs off the first 3 balls of this Anrich Nortje over.
Anrich Nortje to Sikandar Raza, SIX! Raza is on fire and playing a skipper's knock. Hard length on middle and off, Sikandar Raza clears his front foot and plants it to his leg and pulls this over the fence towards the cow corner region for a biggie.
Anrich Nortje to Sikandar Raza, FOUR! Sensational from Sikandar Raza. Back of a length around off, Sikandar Raza shimmies away to his leg and punches this right in the gap between mid off and extra cover for a boundary.
- Dion Myers 8 (11)
- Sikandar Raza 20 (11)
George Linde to Dion Myers, Fired into the batter, around middle and leg. Dion Myers looks to push this in the gap at covers but gets it edged off the inside onto the pads.
George Linde to Sikandar Raza, Darted onto the pads, Sikandar Raza milks this to long on for one.
George Linde to Sikandar Raza, Quicker and flatter on off, Sikandar Raza rocks back and punches this to the right of Anrich Nortje at sweeper cover for a couple of runs this time.
George Linde to Dion Myers, Pushed through on off, Dion Myers drives this through extra cover for a run.
George Linde to Sikandar Raza, Quicker one, on middle and leg, Sikandar Raza goes deep inside the crease and tucks this through mid on for another strike rotation.
George Linde to Dion Myers, Floated on off, Dion Myers rocks back and punches this through the covers region for a single.
DRINKS BREAK! The pitch does not look like a belter as the odd ball has kicked up and stayed low as well. With both Zimbabwean openers dismissed without much impact, the focus now shifts to how they navigate this middle phase while ensuring the run rate does not dip massively. The South African pacers have been right on the money so far, offering very little room and forcing the batters to manufacture their strokes and would look to get the wicket of Raza as quickly as possible to peg Zimbabwe seriously back. George Linde (1-0-13-0) returns into the attack after the break. He replaces Anrich Nortje.
- Sikandar Raza 16 (8)
- Dion Myers 6 (8)
Corbin Bosch to Sikandar Raza, FOUR! Beautifully struck boundary from Raza. Good length around off, Sikandar Raza stays leg side to it and drives this through the left of covers for a boundary to close the Powerplay. Ryan Rickelton did put in a dive to his left to field this but fails to get anything on the ball and it races to the fence. Zimbabwe are 45/2 after 6 overs.
Corbin Bosch to Dion Myers, Full and drifting down the leg, Dion Myers flicks this to deep backward square leg for a run.
Corbin Bosch to Sikandar Raza, On a length around middle and off, Sikandar Raza steps across and rolls this to mid on for a single.
Corbin Bosch to Sikandar Raza, Good length around off, Sikandar Raza blocks this back to the bowler.
Corbin Bosch to Sikandar Raza, SIX! Pumped out of the park. Back of a length around off, Sikandar Raza shuffles across the stumps and pulls this over the fence towards the deep square leg region for a huge six.
Corbin Bosch to Sikandar Raza, FOUR! A full delivery angled into off and middle from over the wicket at 140.8 kph. Raza opens the face and drives without much foot movement, guiding it past the diving fielder at backward point. Maphaka puts in a dive in the deep, but replays indicate he could not gather it cleanly.
Change again. Corbin Bosch replaces Kwena Maphaka.
- Sikandar Raza 1 (3)
- Dion Myers 5 (7)
Anrich Nortje to Sikandar Raza, On a length around middle and leg, Sikandar Raza tucks this through the onside and takes a single. Just one run and a wicket off this Anrich Nortje over.
Anrich Nortje to Sikandar Raza, Good length around leg, Sikandar Raza backs away and looks to get it away but misses.
Anrich Nortje to Sikandar Raza, A bit awkward from Sikandar Raza. Back of a length around the pads, Sikandar Raza hops up on his toes and looks to flick this away but gets it thumped back onto the pads and luckily for the Zimbabwean skipper the ball lands behind the stumps.
Both the Zimbabwean openers are back in the hut. And this dismissal of Bennett will hurt a lot given the kind of form he was in. It is now the test of how their middle order performs without him in this rebuilding phase. In walks the skipper, Sikandar Raza, at number 4.
Anrich Nortje to Brian Bennett, OUT! CAUGHT! Zimbabwe's top scorer in this edition is done with the bat as he finds Aiden Markram at mid off. Once again, Anrich Nortje bowls it on a hard length, around off, and it kicks up a bit off the deck. Brian Bennett backs away a shade and looks to chip this up and over mid off, but fails to get enough timing and elevation and ends up hitting this straight into the hands of Aiden Markram who gathers it at chest height. Zimbabwe are 28/2.
Anrich Nortje to Brian Bennett, Brian shuffles to his leg and Anrich Nortje follows him with a length delivery into the batter. Brian Bennett pushes this to point for another dot.
Anrich Nortje to Brian Bennett, Hard length, on top of off, Brian Bennett hops back inside the crease and keeps it out.
Pace replaces pace from this end. Serious pace, to be precise. Here's Anrich Nortje replacing Lungi Ngidi.
- Brian Bennett 15 (10)
- Dion Myers 5 (7)
Kwena Maphaka to Brian Bennett, Back of a length and outside off, guided away off the back foot through backward point for a single.
Raza then made an immediate impact with the ball, dismissing Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock in the powerplay before returning to remove the dangerous Dewald Brevis, reducing South Africa to 101 for five. With 53 runs still required and uneven bounce adding to the tension, the chase briefly wavered.
However, Tristan Stubbs (21 not out) and George Linde (31 not out) combined calmly to guide South Africa home in 17.5 overs. The Proteas carried their unbeaten run into the semifinals, where they will face New Zealand in Kolkata.
Zimbabwe, despite topping their group earlier, ended their Super Eights campaign winless. While Raza stood out with a captain’s performance, Zimbabwe’s inability to provide sustained support with the bat proved decisive.
Match Statistics
Venue
Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
