India Vs South Africa Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8: Maharaj, Jansen Star In Proteas' 76-Run Win

Hello cricket fans! Welcome to a blockbuster Sunday as we brings you the live coverage of the Super 8 match between South Africa and India at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium. Stay tuned for the live score and play-by-play updates of the match.

Check out the weather in Ahmedabad for the all-important clash between India and South Africa at the Narendra Modi Stadium on February 22, 2026.

India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj

South Africa: Aiden Markram(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Jason Smith, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen

The third Super 8 clash between India vs South Africa will telecast on the Star Sports Network. While fans can also enjoy the action as the live streaming will be available on JioHotstar app.

The Super Eights clash between India and South Africa at Motera will be played on a black-soil pitch, which is not expected to assist spinners much. The venue has red, black, and mixed surfaces, but this game features a regular black-soil track. It should offer decent bounce, and with the grass completely shaved off, the surface has a bare look.

Fans gathering ahead of the much-awaited clash.

Toss time is fast approaching. We’re just 5 minutes away, and the captain who calls it right is likely to bowl first, following the usual T20 pattern on Indian surfaces. Regardless of the decision, a run-fest could be on the cards tonight.

South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first.

India: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan(w), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy

South Africa: Aiden Markram(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

The national anthems are underway. Flags are unfurled as the atmosphere turns electric. Sunil Gavaskar walks out alongside Google CEO Sundar Pichai to unveil the T20 World Cup trophy. The players then stride out, form their lines, and huddle together as the anthems echo around the stadium, setting the stage for a grand contest.

Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock are out in the middle, with Markram set to face the first ball. Arshdeep Singh has the new ball in hand and will begin the proceedings.

Arshdeep Singh starts off with a tidy over as South Africa move to 4/0 (1). Markram gets things going with a single, but there’s little room on offer early on. De Kock looks to settle in, managing just one off four deliveries as Arshdeep keeps it tight with disciplined lines. A leg-bye sneaks in towards the end, and it’s a quiet but steady start for the Proteas in the first over.

After a couple of singles and a boundary in the over, Jasprit Bumrah produces a beauty to clean up Quinton de Kock. From slightly wide of the crease, Bumrah angles in a 137kph nip-backer that tails in sharply and stays a touch low. De Kock plants his feet and swings across the line, but misses it completely, the ball crashes into the leg stump. South Africa slip to 10/1.

Arshdeep strikes in his second over. With South Africa at 12/1, he tempts Aiden Markram with a slightly overpitched delivery outside off at 135kph. Markram goes hard on the drive, trying to power it down the ground, but mistimes it off the toe end straight to Hardik Pandya at mid-off, simple catch, and SA slip to 12/2.

Just one run had come in the over before Bumrah pulls out the change-up. A clever slower ball, pitched outside leg and angling in, deceives Rickelton completely. The batter goes through the shot early and ends up offering a simple catch, which Shivam Dube accepts safely. The crowd erupts as Bumrah raises his arms, South Africa slip further to 20/3, firmly on the back foot in the Powerplay.

South Africa recover slightly to reach 41/3 after six overs. David Miller provides the counterattack with a couple of crisp boundaries, easing some pressure after the early wickets. India still hold the edge, but the Proteas have found a bit of momentum heading out of the Powerplay.

David Miller sets the tone with a clean six, showing his fearless intent, and the pressure quickly shifts. Brevis joins the party, first rotating strike and then hammering a boundary before launching a no-look six of his own. The pair are suddenly in full flow, taking 17 runs off the over and lifting SA to 73/3 (9). After the early wobble, the Proteas are fighting back in style.

Shivam Dube strikes first as Brevis falls for 45, mistiming a slower back-of-a-length delivery and top-edging it to deep mid-wicket, South Africa 110/4. But the momentum swings instantly. A front-foot no-ball hands Miller a free hit, and he makes India pay in style. Reaching out to a full delivery outside off, he carves it over deep backward point for a stunning six to bring up a blazing 26-ball fifty. Miller keeps the scoreboard ticking with smart singles thereafter, and despite the wicket, 17 runs come off the over as South Africa surge to 128/4 (13), firmly on the charge.

Varun Chakaravarthy may have been expensive, but he delivers the big wicket India desperately needed. He slows it up and drifts it wider outside off, tempting Miller into the lofted drive. The South African star doesn’t quite get under it, hitting it slightly higher on the bat, and it balloons straight to Tilak Varma at long-off. Miller departs for a superb 63 off 35, and SA slip to 152/5.

Jansen looks to heave one across the line but doesn’t connect cleanly, and Rinku Singh takes a simple catch at deep mid-wicket, South Africa 162/6. Bosch responds with a crisp pull for four, but Arshdeep keeps the rest tight, conceding just seven runs in the over as SA reach 164/6 (18).

He fires in a pinpoint yorker at Corbin Bosch, right in the blockhole. Bosch jams his bat down and the ball pops straight back, there’s a brief check for a bump ball, but replays confirm it carried cleanly. Bumrah completes the return catch calmly, and South Africa slip to 167/7 (19). Just three runs and a wicket from the over as India tighten the screws in the final stretch.

Hardik misses his lengths in the final over and Stubbs makes him pay. After a couple of twos and a boundary, the young batter goes big, first muscling a slower ball over long-on for six, then swivelling deep in his crease to thump another maximum over deep backward square. Back-to-back sixes to close the innings, and the Proteas surge to 187/7. A strong total on the board after that late assault.

Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma are out in the middle, with Kishan set to face the first ball. Aiden Markram will kick things off with the ball.

Markram strikes early as Ishan Kishan goes for a slog against the drifting off-break but mistimes it, and Rickelton takes a safe catch at cover, India 0/1. Tilak Varma gets off the mark with a single, while Abhishek Sharma breaks his tournament duck in style, cutting a short ball past point for four. India 5/1 after the first over.

Tilak Varma charges down and edges it through to de Kock, review confirms it, and India slip to 5/2. Suryakumar Yadav counters with two classy boundaries, one through mid-wicket and another carved past cover. India move to 13/2 after two overs.

He rolls in a knuckle ball and Abhishek Sharma is through the shot far too early. The ball lobs high off the inner half, and though Bosch and Maharaj nearly collide, Bosch keeps his eyes on it and holds on safely. India slip to 26/3 (5) and the Ahmedabad crowd goes quiet.

Drinks in Ahmedabad and India desperately need a recharge. The defending champions, as a result of yet another wobbly start, are 31/3 in six overs. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Washington Sundar are in the middle. The target is 188 runs.

Corbin Bosch hits the hard length at pace and Washington Sundar looks to free his arms, but only manages a thin edge through to Quinton de Kock. India slip to 43/4 and are in serious trouble. Shivam Dube gets off the mark with a single, while Suryakumar Yadav rotates strike but can’t find the boundary. Bosch keeps it tight, mixing his lengths well, and concedes just five runs in the over. India crawl to 47/4 after eight overs, with pressure mounting.

Massive blow for India. Bosch strikes first ball of the over as Suryakumar Yadav falls trying to whip one across the line, it comes off the toe end and Brevis takes a sharp catch at midwicket. Bosch keeps the pressure on with hard lengths and pace, conceding just six runs in the over. India crawl to 57/5 after 10 overs.

Hardik and Dube are keeping the scoreboard ticking with smart singles, refusing to take unnecessary risks. It’s not explosive, but it’s steady, exactly what India need at this stage. The partnership moves to 35 off 29 balls, giving the innings some much-needed stability after the collapse. With five wickets down and 86 on the board, this stand is slowly reviving hope in the chase.

Maharaj turns the game on its head! He removes Hardik first ball as Stubbs takes a good catch at long-off. Rinku Singh follows soon after, mistiming one to the same fielder. And to finish the over, Arshdeep also holes out, three wickets in the over! Just two runs conceded as India slump to 88/8 and the chase falls apart.

South Africa keeping things tight here. Just three runs from the over as India continue to struggle for momentum. Dube manages a couple and rotates strike, but the boundaries have completely dried up. With only two wickets in hand and the required rate climbing, India need something special from here. At 105/8 after 18 overs, the chase looks all but out of reach.

Jansen strikes twice in two balls to wrap things up. First, Dube falls for 42, mistiming a knuckle ball and picking out Ngidi at short fine leg. Next ball, Bumrah tries to chip one through the off-side but sends it straight to Markram at extra cover. India are bowled out for 111 in 18.5 overs, handing South Africa a commanding 76-run victory. A dominant finish from the Proteas after their strong first-innings total.

76 runs vs SA Ahmedabad 2026
49 runs vs Aus Bridgetown 2010
47 runs vs NZ Nagpur 2016

This is India’s second biggest defeat by runs in all T20 Internationals behind the 80-run defeats against New Zealand in Wellington in 2019.

India’s first defeat in 18 matches in ICC events across formats since losing the finals of 2023 World Cup against Australia at the same venue.

First defeat for India in a multi-nation T20I tournaments since losing the semifinals vs England in Adelaide in T20 WC 2022.

Matches 23

Won 21 (one win in Super Over)

Losses 1

No-result 1

"I feel we were always in the game when we started. I think we bowled really well in the beginning, 21 for 3, and the way they batted after that from 7 to 15, I think they batted really well, and then we came back again in the game later on. Overall, if we see, we bowled really well, but we could have batted a little better. My thing is sometimes you’ve got to think, if you’re chasing 180-185, you can’t win the game in the powerplay, but you might lose the game in the powerplay. We lost too many wickets in the powerplay and then we couldn’t have small, small partnerships which we wanted for chasing 180-185, but that’s part of the game. We learn from it, we’ll sit back and then come back stronger. I think everyone knows their combination (Bumrah-Arshdeep) has been very lethal. Both of them have played together. If you see today also, both of them bowled eight overs, picked around five wickets and gave around 45-50 runs. If I’m not wrong, I’m not good with numbers. But they bowled really well in partnership and that’s what we want from them. Both are experienced and it’s good to have both of them in our side. Hopefully bat well, bowl well and field well (Talking about the plans for the next game vs Zimbabwe). That’s it. We’ll try and keep it simple, play the same brand of cricket which we want to play and nothing changes. I think we’ll come back strong."

"Great performance. Very different type of wicket to what we’ve had here, so great to see the boys assess that pretty early and adapt their skills to execute their plans. We’re really pumped for the bowling group. They’ve been working hard, started the comp a bit tough, but the way they rocked up tonight was a great effort. I think first and foremost was the partnership. (Miller and Brevis) The guys were great, put that together for us, steadied the ship and kept us in the game. Conversations towards the back end were that the ball was travelling tonight, felt almost a bit spongy, so it was about finding space where we could run hard, drop the ego and take as much as we could at the back end. They bowled well up front and at the death as well, but I thought our batting through the middle was probably the difference. Good effort in the field. We put two down but not for lack of effort. Against UAE we probably weren’t as connected as we’d like, but that presence and connectedness was much better today. We’re going to make mistakes, we don’t mind that as a group, so we’ll brush those aside. We feel like Lungi is a threat whenever he bowls and that he can take wickets for us in that middle phase. It depends on conditions - if we don’t feel like it will do much with the new ball, we’d rather hold him back, but if there’s something in it he gets something out of the wicket. We’ll assess it on game days and give him that role. He’s happy to do anything, a proper team man, and he just keeps delivering. I think it’s the same for both teams having played each other recently (Talking about their next game vs West Indies). They’re a dangerous T20 side playing good cricket, so we’ll enjoy this tonight, park it, and get our minds sharp for that West Indies clash. It’s a big game for us and we don’t want to take confidence or good vibes for granted. Important to rock up on the 28th and take it on full steam ahead."

It's time to bring the curtains down. The host nations, India and Sri Lanka, suffered heavy defeats today. Tune in tomorrow for Zimbabwe vs West Indies. Until then, goodbye