South Africa's dominating victory against the West Indies gave relief for the Suryakumar Yadav-led side as they remain in contention for the semifinal of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. Defending champions, India's semifinal hopes had a lot riding on this result and South Africa delivered exactly what they needed. The Proteas won comfortably by nine wickets with 23 balls to spare, handing the West Indies their first defeat of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. That result has made India’s path to the semi-finals much clearer.
What does India need to qualify?
With South Africa beating the West Indies, India now need to focus on winning their remaining two Super 8 matches. India take on the Zimbabwe national cricket team at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. A win there would bring them level on points with the West Indies.
After that comes a massive clash against the West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. That match could effectively turn into a knockout the winner would move on to the semi-finals.
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Can India afford one loss?
Ideally, India would want to win both games and avoid any complications. But there is still some room for error.
South Africa’s big win badly hurt the West Indies’ Net Run Rate (NRR). It dropped sharply from +5 to +1.791. Because of that, India could still qualify even if they finish with just two points from their remaining matches, but only if South Africa also beat Zimbabwe on March 1. So, while the situation has improved for India, they still need results to go their way.
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South Africa’s dominant win
South Africa were clinical. After restricting the West Indies to 176, the chase never looked difficult. Captain Aiden Markram led from the front with an unbeaten 82 off 46 balls. Quinton de Kock scored 47, and Ryan Rickelton added 45, as the Proteas reached the 177-run target with ease, losing just one wicket and finishing with 23 balls to spare.
South Africa will next face Zimbabwe at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. On the same day, India and the West Indies will square off in what could be a high-pressure, winner-takes-all encounter in Kolkata.