Cricket fans witnessed an eventful Thursday in T20 World Cup 2026 as the battle for the second semi-final spot from the Super 8 Group 1 intensified.
In the first match, South Africa thumped West Indies by nine wickets, before India defeated Zimbabwe in the second match to keep their semi-final hopes alive. Let’s now take a look into both of these matches, and how it turned out to be.
West Indies vs South Africa highlights: Aiden Markram propels Proteas to semi-finals
South Africa skipper Aiden Markram led from the front as he guided his team to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2026 tournament with a nine-wicket win over West Indies. The Proteas, coming on the back of a 76-run win over India, thus remain the only unbeaten side in the tournament.
South Africa won the toss and opted to field first. West Indies got off to a flying start, with skipper Shai Hope scoring 16 runs in the first over that was bowled by spinner Keshav Maharaj. The Proteas then switched to pacers, and their change of bowling plans did wonders.
Kagiso Rabada struck in the third over with the dismissals of Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer, before Lungi Ngidi joined the party with the wickets of Brandon King and Roston Chase in the fourth over.
West Indies seemed to be done and dusted at 83/7, but Jason Holder (49) and Romario Shepherd (52*) forged an 89-run stand for the eighth wicket to take them to 176/8.
However, a total below 200 was never going to be safe. South Africa openers Aiden Markram (82*) and Quinton de Kock (47) forged 95 runs for the first wicket before the latter was dismissed by Roston Chase.
However, half of the chase was already done and dusted by then, and Ryan Rickelton (45*) and Markram eventually took the Proteas home with 23 balls to spare. South Africa’s semi-final spot was confirmed after India’s win over Zimbabwe later on Thursday.
India vs Zimbabwe highlights: Abhishek Sharma returns to form as India keep semi-final hopes alive
Lately, the talk around the Indian camp has been that of Abhishek Sharma’s form. Prior to this match, the opener had endured three consecutive ducks, and then a knock of 15 against South Africa. However, he bounced back to form with a knock of 55 runs from 30 balls as India defeated Zimbabwe by 72 runs in Chennai.
Sanju Samson opened with Abhishek after India were asked to bat. Samson was named in India’s playing XI in place of Rinku Singh, who had flown to New Delhi to meet his ailing father.
Samson, however, failed to make use of the opportunity as he was dismissed for just 24 runs from 15 balls. Abhishek and Ishan Kishan (38) forged 72 runs for the second wicket, and despite losing wickets at regular intervals, the Men in Blue were able to post 256/4 on the board. Hardik Pandya (50*) and Tilak Varma (44*) remained unbeaten as they forged an 84-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Zimbabwe took a cautious approach in their reply. The African side scored 44 runs in the powerplay, but lost Tadiwanashe Marumani soon after that. Three overs after Zimbabwe lost Marumani, Varun Chakravarthy struck with the wicket of Dion Myers. The visitors, though, showed some resistance with the bat and did not collapse like they did against West Indies a few days ago. Brian Bennett, who scored an unbeaten 97, forged 72 runs with Sikandar Raza (31) for the third wicket. That took them to 144/2 in the 17th over, but a cautious approach by the visitors meant that they were restricted to 184/6.
India, who are in third place with two points, will qualify for the semi-finals if they beat West Indies in a winner-takes-all contest in Kolkata on Sunday. Zimbabwe, with two losses in as many matches in Super 8, have been knocked out.
