Match overview
South Africa Cricket beat West Indies Cricket by 7 wickets at SuperSport Park, Centurion, on 29 January 2026. West Indies posted 221/4 from their 20 overs, a total comfortably above the venue's first-innings average of 209 across 155 matches. South Africa overhauled it with some ease, reaching 225/3. The chase was settled in the middle overs, where South Africa scored 122 runs for just 1 wicket. Quinton de Kock took the Player of the Match award.
West Indies' innings was built on a powerful start. Their powerplay produced 68/1, considerably more than the venue's powerplay average of 39 runs. They kept wickets in hand through the middle overs, losing 3 for 77, and then rounded off with 76 runs in the death without losing a wicket. On another day that total might have been enough.
For South Africa, the chase was a composed exercise. They matched West Indies' powerplay effort almost exactly with 70/1, then overwhelmed the target in the middle phase. By the time the death overs arrived, the asking rate was manageable and the result was no longer in serious doubt.
Venue and conditions
SuperSport Park is one of the higher-scoring T20 venues in South Africa. The average first-innings total across 155 matches sits at 209, with second-innings sides averaging 189. That gap suggests first-innings teams tend to post bigger totals here, yet chasers still win 55% of the time, meaning teams that set competitive targets are not guaranteed the result.
The powerplay is where matches at Centurion are often shaped. The venue average of 39 powerplay runs was almost doubled by both sides in this match, West Indies scoring 68 and South Africa 70. When batting sides can exploit the first six overs to that degree, the subsequent phases carry less pressure. On 67% of occasions when a toss is won here, captains choose to field, a tendency South Africa followed by electing to bowl first after winning the toss.
Death-overs conditions tend to favour batters. The venue average for the final four overs is 30 runs, which West Indies exceeded comfortably with 76. South Africa's death overs were more modest at 33, but by that stage the game was already in their keeping.
How to watch
T20 international cricket between South Africa and West Indies is broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Cricket. All matches in the series are available to stream on Sky Go and through NOW TV with a sports day or monthly pass. Coverage typically begins around 30 to 45 minutes before the scheduled start of play, with pre-match analysis and team news.
For fans travelling or catching up later, Sky Sports also provides on-demand highlights across their app and website shortly after each match concludes.
Recent form
South Africa arrive at this fixture carrying mixed form in 2025, having lost three of four T20Is against India Cricket, with one win. Their result against West Indies earlier in the current series run provides the most recent benchmark: a 9-wicket win that underlined how dominant they can be on home soil when everything clicks.
West Indies' form has been poor across the recent stretch. They lost to New Zealand Cricket three times in 2025, with one match ending in no result. The one result that interrupted the run of defeats was their 6-run win over South Africa at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, which showed they retain the ability to push the hosts on their own conditions. This match at Centurion, however, ended in defeat and extends their run of poor results heading into the next phase of the series.
