T20 World Cup: South Africa Crush Canada by 57 Run

South Africa secured a commanding 57-run victory over Canada in their Group D clash of the 2026 T20 World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Sent in to bat first, the Proteas posted a formidable 213/4, powered by captain Aiden Markram’s blistering 59 off 32 balls. Markram set the tone from the start, while Quinton de Kock played a steady anchor role, helping South Africa reach 65 in the powerplay.

De Kock fell shortly after, but Markram continued his aggressive approach, registering his 12th T20I half-century in just 28 deliveries. He added nine more runs before being caught at deep off Ansh Patel’s bowling in the 12th over. Patel also dismissed Ryan Rickelton and Dewald Brevis in quick succession, reducing South Africa to 138/4.

Unbeaten contributions from David Miller (39 off 23) and Tristan Stubbs (34 off 19) helped the Proteas add 75 runs in the final 37 balls, setting the highest total of the tournament so far.

Canada, ranked 19th in the ICC T20I standings, struggled from the outset. Captain Dilpreet Bajwa was caught behind off Lungi Ngidi’s opening delivery, and Ngidi quickly removed Yuvraj Samra and Nicholas Kirton in his second over, leaving Canada reeling at 45/4 in the powerplay after Kagiso Rabada cleaned up Shreyas Movva.

A stabilising 69-run partnership between Navneet Dhaliwal and Harsh Thaker offered some resistance, but Ngidi struck again to dismiss Thaker for 33, breaking the stand. Dhaliwal’s valiant 64-ball 49 went in vain as Canada could only manage 156/8 in 20 overs.

South Africa will now turn their attention to their second T20 World Cup 2026 fixture, facing Afghanistan at the same venue on Wednesday.