T20 WC: South Africa eye continuing winning run as Zimbabwe seek to sign off on a high (Preview)

New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) South Africa will look to extend their unbeaten run in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup when they take on Zimbabwe in their final Super Eights game to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

South Africa have been a very strong force to reckon with in this tournament, winning all six of their matches while maintaining a run rate of 10 – the highest for any side in the competition. A victory over Zimbabwe would take their winning streak to seven games, their second-best unbeaten sequence in the shortest format.

Captain Aiden Markram has been at the heart of the Proteas success, scoring 264 runs at a strike rate of 178 across six innings, including three half-centuries. His strike rate of 200 in the powerplay is the highest among all batters who have faced 50 or more deliveries in that phase in this tournament.

He is also in sight to achieve the record for most runs scored by a captain in a single T20 World Cup edition, which is currently held by Pakistan’s Babar Azam, who amassed 303 runs in 2021. With Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton chipping in with valuable contributions, South Africa’s top order averages 42.1, which is just behind Zimbabwe’s 44.8.

South Africa’s batters have also been the tournament’s most effective batters against spin, scoring at 9.9 runs per over against the tweakers – the best figures for any team in this edition. Barring de Kock and David Miller, almost all of SA’s batters have a strike-rate in excess of 140 against spinners. That will present a significant challenge for Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl, who shoulder much of their spin-bowling duties.

Apart from their batters in great nick, South Africa’s pace attack has been in top form in this World Cup, claiming 37 wickets – the most by any side in this tournament. Lungi Ngidi has been their standout bowler with 11 scalps at an economy of 6.8 and needs one more wicket to become South Africa’s all-time leading wicket-taker T20Is, and go past left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who has 89 scalps.

Alongside Ngidi, Marco Jansen has been equally dangerous, also taking 11 wickets with a best haul of 4-22. Pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada, who struggled in the opening matches, has improved markedly, his economy rate dropping from 10.2 in his first two matches to 6.9 across the last four games.

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe, already eliminated from the competition, will be playing for pride. Their campaign produced great moments, including wins over Sri Lanka and Australia, to become Group B toppers before successive heavy defeats against West Indies and India in the Super Eights.

Though Zimbabwe will be headed home after Sunday’s clash, they have already produced one of the most compelling individual stories of the competition – the emergence of opener Brian Bennett. The right-handed opener has scored 277 runs in five innings and being dismissed just once, which means his average is at a staggering 277.

Bennett will be keen to make the most out of batting-friendly conditions in New Delhi, as he needs 43 more runs to break Virat Kohli’s all-time record of 319 runs in a single T20 World Cup campaign. One more half-century would also make him only the fifth batter in history to score four fifties in a single edition, joining Kohli, Azam and Matthew Hayden.

Bennett hasn’t got that much support from the other batters and Zimbabwe would hope for them to step up. In the bowling department, Zimbabwe had a good time in league stages, via an economy rate of 7.2. But with West Indies and India posted totals in excess of 250 in successive matches against them, putting up a much-improved show with the ball will be on top of Zimbabwe bowling group’s priority.

The Arun Jaitley Stadium has strongly favoured the chasing side in this tournament, with four of the five matches won by the team batting second. South Africa have a perfect record at the ground – via beating UAE in their final Group D clash and also have 7-1 head-to-head supremacy over Zimbabwe.

For South Africa, the incentive to win Sunday’s game is huge – another win will help them enter the knockout stage with an unbeaten run under their belt. For Zimbabwe, it is the chance to ensure their memorable World Cup campaign, despite being underwhelming in their last two games, ends on a high.

When: Sunday, March 1, 3:00 PM IST

Where: Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi

Where to watch: Star Sports Network for live TV broadcast and JioHotstar for live streaming

Squads

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

Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza (c), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Graeme Cremer, Ben Curran, Bradley Evans, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, and Richard Ngarava

–IANS

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