South Africa’s dominant nine-wicket victory over West Indies at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium has placed them in a commanding position in the Super 8 stage. This win follows their earlier 76-run thrashing of India at the same venue, leaving the Proteas with a perfect record of four points from two games. Their massive wins have also gifted them a formidable Net Run Rate (NRR) of +2.890, making them the clear frontrunners in Group 1 with T20 World Cup 2026 semifinals race heating up.
What’s holding South Africa back from the T20 World Cup semifinals?
Despite their unblemished record and superior NRR, Aiden Markram-led South Africa have not yet mathematically secured a spot in the semifinals. In contrast, England, competing in Group 2, have already officially qualified for the final four, despite having a lower NRR than the Proteas. This discrepancy is due to the specific point distributions and remaining fixtures within South Africa’s group, which keep a slim possibility of elimination alive.
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In this rare nightmare scenario for the Proteas, India would finish at the bottom of the group with zero points, while South Africa, the West Indies, and Zimbabwe would all be tied with four points each. Under these circumstances, the two semifinalists would be decided by Net Run Rate. If the margins of victory for Zimbabwe and the West Indies are large enough, South Africa could find themselves pushed down to third place and eliminated from the tournament.
However, the chances of South Africa landing up in the receiving end are really low, given their top-notch show in the ongoing tournament.
Updated Super 8 Group 1 points table after SA crush WI
| Team | Mat | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
| South Africa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +2.890 |
| West Indies | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +1.791 |
| India | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -3.800 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -5.350 |