SA vs CAN: In the ninth match of the T20 World Cup 2026, Canada, after winning the toss, elected to bowl first against South Africa at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. This meant that South Africa had to bat, given the look of the pitch, which seemed conducive to batting. South Africa maanged to make 213 runs with the help of captain Aiden Markram’s half-century knock.
Canada lost wickets in the early stage but Navneet Dhaliwal and Harsh Thaker’s partnership stabilised their innings to reach a respectable total of 156 at the loss of 8 wickets. South Africa grabbed the win by 57 runs. Lungi Ngidi won the player of the match for his 4 wicket haul performance.
Markram and de Kock Provide a Strong Opening
South Africa sent Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock to open the innings for the team. The opening batsmen started well and capitalised on the powerplay overs. After three overs, South Africa had scored 32 runs, and Aiden Markram was showing promise.
Explosive Powerplay for South Africa
While in the SA vs CAN encounter, South African batters ruled the powerplay game, running away to 66 runs in the first six overs without losing a wicket. Markram looked in sublime touch while de Kock played second fiddle.
Canada Strikes Back: de Kock is out
The breakthrough finally came for Canada in the seventh over as captain Dilpreet Bajwa accounted for Quinton de Kock. The left-hander was bowled for 25 from 22 balls, his recent form a concern. South Africa were 72 for 1.
Aiden Markram Brings Up a Brilliant Fifty
South African captain Aiden Markram continued his fine innings. He reached his half-century in just 28 balls. That is also his 12th T20 fifty. Markram and Ryan Rickelton guided South Africa beyond the 100-run mark in the 10th over.
Markram’s swashbuckling innings was finally brought to an end in the 12th over, as he got caught at long-on off Ansh Patel’s bowling. He scored 59 runs off 32 balls, laced with 10 fours and a six. South Africa were 132 for 2 in that stage.
Late Fireworks Set a Big Target
South Africa picked up speed in the death overs, thanks to the aggressive batting from David Miller and Tristan Stubbs. The two batters added 75 runs in just 37 balls. David Miller continued his hitting, hitting 39 runs in 23 balls, while Tristan contributed 34 runs in 19 balls. South Africa closed their innings strongly, providing a target of 214 runs for Canada in this SA vs CAN match.
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Canada’s Chase Begins in Disaster
However, Canada’s run chase got off to the worst possible start as their captain Dilpreet Bajwa got dismissed on the very first ball by Lungi Ngidi. Four Wickets Down Inside the Powerplay.
Canada was still losing wickets at regular intervals. Yuvraj Samra (12), Nicholas Kirton (4), and Shreyas Movva (9) all fell, but cheaply. At the start of the sixth over, Canada were struggling at 50/4, which was well short of a requisite rate.
Dhaliwal and Thaker Try to Steady the Innings
The innings saw a partnership between second order batsmen Navneet Dhaliwal and Harsh Thaker, but their efforts to try and get Canada back into the game were unsuccessful when at the end of 10 overs, Canada was at 75-4 with Navneet scoring 28 runs and Harsh scoring 17 runs each; the target was still out of reach for Canada.
Later on Harsh got dismissed by Lungi Ngidi on a slower one after getting hit for a four in his last over. Although Dhaliwal completed his T20 World Cup half-century but Canada went on to losing 8 wickets at the end and fell short by 57 runs form the target. Still it was Canada’s highest total in their T20 World Cup campaign.
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