New Delhi: South Africa, the finalists from the last edition, thrashed Canada by 57 runs in their opening game to get off the mark in style in the T20 World Cup 2026 on Monday. The Proteas rode on a brilliant half-century from skipper Aiden Markram and a four-wicket haul from pacer Lungi Ngidi to register a dominant victory against Canada at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Canada had little chance of salvaging the game after a combined batting effort propelled South Africa to a huge total of 213 runs, batting first. Navneet Dhaliwal slammed a gusty half-century to lead the charge for Canada in the chase, but his efforts were not enough to take his team home as they fell short by a huge margin in the end.
In pursuit of a huge 214-run target, Canada got off to a woeful start as they were reduced to 45/4 inside the Powerplay with Ngidi wreaking havoc. The South African pacer ran through their top order to reduce them to tatters in the run chase. Dhaliwal led the fightback for his side with his 64 off 49 balls.
He combined with Harsh Thaker (33) to share a 69-run stand for the fifth wicket, which eventually helped Canada play through the 20 overs. Ngidi finished with sublime figures of 4/31 and was well supported by Marco Jansen, who picked up two wickets as South Africa restricted Canada to 156/8 to secure a convincing victory in their opening game.
Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs play quickfire knocks
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Earlier, put into bat first, South Africa rode on quickfire knocks from skipper Markram and all-rounder Tristan Stubbs to post a huge total on the board. Markram smashed a cracking 59 off 32 balls, laced with 10 fours and a six, while Stubbs helped the Proteas finish strongly with an unbeaten 34 off 19 balls, studded with two sixes and as many fours.
Markram opened the batting with Quinton de Kock (25) and got South Africa off to a flyer with a 70-run opening stand. Ryan Rickelton helped the Proteas continue the momentum with a quickfire 33 off 21 before Stubbs and David Miller (39 off 23) combined to post an unbeaten stand of 75 runs for the fifth wicket and take South Africa past the 200-run mark.
After getting off to a winning start, South Africa, who are one of the strongest contenders for the title, will look to make it two wins in a row when they take on Afghanistan in their next group stage clash on February 11. Canada, on the other hand, will look to bounce back to winning ways when they take on UAE in their next game on Friday, February 13.
