South Africa got their campaign off to a stunning start by beating Canada by 57 runs in Group D of the FIFA T20 World Cup on Monday, February 9 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The 2024 runners-up produced a strong batting performance led by Aiden Markram’s half-century before Lungi Ngidi dismantled Canada’s chase with four wickets.
With the win, the Proteas moved to the top of the table with a net rate of +2.850, ahead of New Zealand, who also opened their campaign with a win over Afghanistan. The Black Caps will have a chance to reclaim top spot when they take on the UAE at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.
SA vs CAN, T20 World Cup Highlights
MARKRAM COMES OUT OF SHOOTING
After being asked to bat first, the Proteas got off to a flying start as openers Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock dominated the innings with a 65-run stand without the loss of a wicket. The partnership eventually reached 70 before Canadian skipper Dilpreet Bajwa removed De Kock, who scored 25 off 22 balls.
Markram continued to play aggressively and reached his fifty off 28 balls while Ryan Rickelton backed up with a quick 21 off 33 balls. In the middle overs, South Africa suffered a mini-collapse, losing three wickets for 12 runs in just 14 balls to be reduced to 138 for four.
Canadian left-arm spinner Ansh Patel was impressive, taking all three wickets to finish with figures of 4-0-31-3. Markram eventually fell for 59 off 32 balls in the 12th over. While Dewald Brevis fell cheaply, an unbeaten 75-run partnership between David Miller (39) and Tristan Stubbs (34) helped the Proteas post a competitive 213 for four.
THIS IS GOING THROUGHOUT.
Canada didn’t get off to the best start as Lungi Ngidi struck early, removing skipper Dilpreet Bajwa for a duck in the very first over of their chase. Yuvraj Samra looked promising, hitting three fours, but Ngidi dismissed him soon after. Ngidi then claimed the wicket of Nicholas Kirton and Kagiso Rabada sent back Shreyas Movva to reduce Canada to 50 for four in the powerplay.
Harsh Thaker and Navneet Dhaliwal tried to stabilize the innings with a partnership of 69 runs but the required run rate kept rising. Ngidi broke the deadlock by taking Thaker’s wicket; he made a handy 33 off 29 balls.
From there, Dhaliwal played a solitary hand, reaching his fifty off 39 balls and finishing with 64 off 49 balls, including seven fours and a six. Backed by Ngidi’s brilliant four wickets and Marco Jansen’s 2-30 from four overs, South Africa completed a clinical victory in Ahmedabad, restricting Canada to 156 for eight.
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Issued by:
sabyasachi chowdhury
Published on:
February 10, 2026
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