Match overview

South Africa beat West Indies by 9 wickets at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on 26 February 2026. West Indies set a target of 177, posting 176/8 after winning the toss and choosing to bat. South Africa's reply was clinical: 69 runs without loss in the powerplay, 94 more runs for one wicket in the middle overs, and the match was done. Only 14 runs were needed from the death overs. AK Markram earned the Player of the Match award in what was a one-sided contest from about the end of the sixth over of the chase.

The result extends South Africa's overall T20 advantage over West Indies to 50 wins from 81 meetings, with West Indies claiming just 24. South Africa had already won two of the three fixtures between the sides in 2026, both by large margins: 7 wickets at Centurion and 9 wickets at Boland Park. This latest victory followed the same pattern.

Venue and conditions

Narendra Modi Stadium has hosted 95 T20 matches, making it one of the most data-rich venues in the world. The average first-innings score across those games is 206 runs, and the average second-innings score sits at 196. West Indies' 176/8 came in well below both benchmarks, which told the story before South Africa had faced a ball.

Teams electing to field at this ground do so 60 per cent of the time after winning the toss, a trend South Africa followed here. Chasing sides win 53 per cent of matches at Ahmedabad, so the decision was defensible on the numbers alone. The powerplay has historically yielded an average of 43 runs at this venue; South Africa's 69-run powerplay blew past that figure and set up the rest of the innings. The death overs average 38 runs per innings here. South Africa needed just 14 from theirs, having done all the damage earlier.

The surface here tends to favour batters in the first half of an innings before the pitch slows. The fact West Indies lost 4 wickets inside the powerplay, rather than using it to build a platform, cost them whatever chance they had of posting a score in line with venue norms.

How to watch

For UK-based viewers, T20 international fixtures involving South Africa and West Indies are typically broadcast on Sky Sports Cricket, with live streaming available through Sky Go and NOW TV for subscribers. Coverage schedules vary depending on the tournament context, so checking the Sky Sports listings directly will confirm exact start times. Matches in India often begin in the late afternoon local time, which puts the UK kickoff in the late afternoon or early evening depending on the time of year.

Recent form

Both sides arrived in Ahmedabad on the back of extended winning runs. West Indies had won five consecutive matches in 2026, beating Zimbabwe, Italy, Nepal, England, and Scotland before this fixture. South Africa matched them for momentum, winning four in a row against India, UAE, New Zealand, and Canada before losing to West Indies by 6 runs at the Wanderers, also in 2026.

South Africa's one blemish in that run was the Wanderers defeat, which made this a direct reversal. The manner of their response in Ahmedabad, a nine-wicket win with runs to spare, suggested the Wanderers result was an outlier rather than a trend. West Indies' form coming in was strong against lower-ranked opposition; South Africa represented a clear step up, and the powerplay collapse in the first innings was the moment that gap showed most sharply.