Can History Repeat When India and South Africa Meet Again in Ahmedabad?

India and South Africa will commence their Super Eight stages against each other. The clash will be of high stakes, as both teams remained undefeated in the group stages. However, the Indian team holds an edge over South Africa, as they recently defeated them in a T20I clash at the same venue.

The Group stages of the T20 World Cup have almost ended, and every team is preparing for the Super Eight. While India and South Africa will be having their clash on 22 February, the fans just can't wait to see the fireworks. The last time both teams faced each other in the T20 World Cup, it was the finals of the last edition.

Since then, they have also gone against each other in several bilateral series. But this time, it will be India, the hosts, taking on South Africa at Narendra Modi Stadium. Both teams recently went against each other at the same venue, when South Africa was on a tour of India for a three match ODI and five match T20I series.

India vs South Africa: 5th T20I

India had already won the T20I series before heading into the clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium. The venue has been known to have some happy and more sad memories for the team, but the fireworks here have been impressive with the bat. India was batting first in this game and that's where the actual fireworks started.

Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma went on a rampage mode in the powerplay. Eventually, both of them were dismissed in their 30s, which was also followed by a quick wicket of Suryakumar Yadav, who scored just 5 runs. Everyone expected a collapse was incoming, but Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya took the centre stage.

Both of them had a 105-run stand for the 4th wicket, which took India to a powerful position. Tilak Varma went on to score 73 runs off 42 balls, while Hardik Pandya was on a whole different level. He went on to score 63 runs off 25 balls with 5 fours and 5 sixes. Shivam Dube finished with a quick knock, as India scored 231 runs for the loss of 5 wickets.

The Indian bowlers also had a tough time in the initial stages of the chase. Quinton de Kock was bashing them all over the ground, so they had to put the pressure on Reeza Hendricks. Hendricks was dismissed in the 7th over, but Dewald Brevis took the stage and continued smashing boundaries.

Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Varun Chakravarthy did a great job to tackle the set batsmen. The middle order of the team fell prey to Varun Chakravarthy and Arshdeep Singh, as South Africa trembled down to the score of 177/8. Corbin Bosch and Lungi Ngidi didn't lose their wicket, as South Africa managed to score just 201 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. India won this game with Hardik Pandya winning the POTM award.

India and South Africa in T20 World Cup 2026

The T20 World Cup 2026 has been a strong one for both India and South Africa. Both teams managed to remain undefeated in the group stages, which has helped them to make the next game even more intense for the fans.

India

India, the hosts of the T20 World Cup, have remained the key contenders for the tournament. Being the defending champions, the team has managed to maintain its dominance in the tournament. In Group A, India was present with other teams such as USA, Pakistan, Netherlands, and Namibia.

Except for the clash against USA, none of them was even a close encounter for the Indian team. They even secured a dominant win over Pakistan, their arch rivals, winning the game by a decent margin. This is also the reason why India was able top the charts in Group A, winning all games with their NRR being at +2.50.

South Africa

South Africa has also shown similar performance like India, as they remained undefeated in the Group stages. Present in Group D, the team shared its group with Afghanistan, New Zealand, Canada, and UAE. Only two of their games remained a close encounter, keeping the fans thrilled.

One of them was the clash against Afghanistan. This match went into a double Super Over, where South Africa was able to come out on top by just 5 runs. That victory against Afghanistan remained one of the key reasons why the team was able to assert its dominance in the Group Stages.