There are two matches today in T20 World Cup 2026. India has to play an important match against Zimbabwe. However, the picture will become clear to some extent only from the match between South Africa and West Indies to be held before this. The India-Zimbabwe match will be played at Chepauk, Chennai from 7 pm, while the match between South Africa and West Indies will be played at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad from 3 pm. The good thing for South Africa is that it played its last match against India here also. To remain in the race for the semi-finals, India would like Aiden Markram’s team to win this match. If South Africa wins this match and India also manages to defeat Zimbabwe, then there will be a virtual knockout between India and West Indies on March 1.
West Indies’ performance in this World Cup
Two-time champion West Indies had a great journey in the group stage.
This team defeated England by 30 runs after winning against Scotland by 35 runs.
Won against Nepal by nine wickets and then defeated Italy by 42 runs.
By defeating Zimbabwe by 107 runs in their first Super-8 match, West Indies have secured first place in Group-1 of Super-8 with a net run rate of +5.350.
In this World Cup, Africa’s performance
On the other hand, South African team is at second position with +3.800 net run rate.
This team won its first match against Canada by 57 runs, after which it defeated Afghanistan in the second super over.
South Africa ended their group stage campaign on top with a six-wicket win against UAE after defeating New Zealand by seven wickets.
After this, South Africa made a strong start to its Super-8 campaign by winning against India by 76 runs.
West Indies vs South Africa Head to Head
So far, T20 matches have been played 29 times between the two countries, in which there has been a tough competition. During this period, West Indies won 15 matches, while South Africa won 14 matches. The last encounter between the two teams took place on January 31 during the three-match T20 series, which West Indies won by six runs. However, South Africa won this series 2-1.
Both teams clashed five times in T20 World Cup
Both the teams have come face to face five times in the T20 World Cup. Out of these, South Africa has won four matches, while West Indies has won once. West Indies last and last defeated South Africa in the T20 World Cup in 2016. Then West Indies had won by three wickets in Nagpur and then also won the title. Coincidentally, even then the T20 World Cup match was played in India and this time also the T20 World Cup match between the two is in India. In such a situation, West Indies players would like to end the wait of 10 years.
pitch and weather
There is a possibility of a scorching hot day in Ahmedabad once again. The match will start at 3 pm and at this time the players are not expected to get any respite from the hot weather. Pitch number seven has been allotted for this match, which is a red clay surface. Extra bounce is usually seen on red clay pitches, although this was not seen much in the last match. Overall, this pitch is considered favorable for batting, especially considering the strong batting line-up of both the teams, the possibility of a big score here cannot be ruled out.
Probable playing-11 of both the teams
West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (captain & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Akil Hussain/Roston Chase, Gudakesh Moti, Shamar Joseph.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brewis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.
Where can you watch South Africa vs West Indies match?
Star Sports has the broadcasting rights of the T20 World Cup and viewers will be able to watch the matches on Star Sports channels. Apart from this, live streaming of the match will be on JioHotstar app.