Proteas, Ireland and England notch big wins a T20WC

It was another big day at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 as Ireland began action in Colombo with a massive win over Oman.

England got back on track with a victory over Scotland in Kolkata, while in a blockbuster evening clash, South Africa overcame the New Zealand challenge in Ahmedabad.

South Africa captain Aiden Markram won the toss and elected to field against New Zealand in the Group D clash in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

With Marco Jansen spearheading the attack, South Africa held an in-form New Zealand to 175/7.

While the Kiwi openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert gave the team a brisk start, they lost early wickets to end the PowerPlay at 58/3.

It looked like New Zealand were setting themselves up for a big score when Daryl Mitchell (32) and Mark Chapman (48) built a 74-run stand. But South African pace duo of Lungi Ngidi and Jansen struck again, dismissing the two dangermen to steer their team back on track. Jansen was the wrecker in chief, providing his team with crucial breakthroughs to claim 4/40.

In the chase, South Africa got off to the perfect start thanks to Markram and Quinton de Kock.

Markram led the charge for the Proteas with a blistering 86* off just 44 deliveries, while De Kock chipped in with 20 off 14 before being dismissed by a superb delivery from Lockie Ferguson.

South Africa surged to 101/1 in just 7.1 overs with Markram holding fort at one end with the other batters - Ryan Rickelton (21 off 11), Dewald Brevis (21 off 17) and David Miller (24* off 17) chipping in with useful contributions.

The Markram-led unit now remain unbeaten in the tournament and sit atop the Group D table.

Earlier, England overcame a nervy start to score a five-wicket win over Scotland and stay in contention for a Super 8 spot at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. The win helped them climb back to second in a competitive Group C.

Electing to field first, England restricted Scotland to 152 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday.

However, the chase got off to a troubled start as openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler fell in the first two overs. With swing coming into play, Scottish pacers Brandon McMullen and Brad Currie used the new ball well.

England got a move on in the fifth over, notching 16 runs to calm some of the early nerves and end powerplay on 43/2. Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton led the rebuild with a 66-run partnership off 45 balls.

After Bethell departed for a well-paced 32, Banton and Sam Curran took charge at the wicket. Curran, who had got a measure of the wicket, picked up a quick 28 while Banton held the innings together with a half-century. He scored and unbeaten 63 off 41 balls and struck four fours and three sixes to help England over the finish line.

Earlier in the day, England made early inroads as Jofra Archer struck with two quick wickets. Though Scotland ticked at a good run-rate, they lost a wicket too many and closed out powerplay at 42/3.

Scotland clawed their way back with a 71-run partnership between captain Richie Berrington (49) and Tom Bruce (24) for the fourth wicket. However, the two batters departed within the space of four balls, sending their team into a downward spiral. Scotland slipped from 113/4 to 127/8. Oliver Davidson's cameo helped Scotland across the 150-mark.

It was the English spinners that engineered the middle order collapse. Liam Dawson (2/34) and Adil Rashid (3/36) were taken for some runs by Berrington and Bruce early on, but returned to haunt the Scots. While Dawson broke the partnership by packing off Bruce, Rashid trapped Berrington leg before wicket one run short of 50. Archer, who had given England the initial breakthrough, finished with 2/24.

In the first game on Saturday, Ireland scored an incredible 96-run win over Oman in Colombo on Friday to register their first win of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.

It was an innings of two halves as Oman ruled the early exchanges while Ireland, with captain Lorcan Tucker at the wheel, went on a run rampage in the second half. Ireland recovered from 64/4 in 7.3 overs to pile on 235/5 in 20 overs, the highest score at this T20 World Cup and the second-highest overall at T20 World Cups.

After electing to field, Oman deployed its spinners straight away against the Irish. And left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed gave Oman the perfect start as he ripped through the Ireland top order. He began by bowling Tim Tector with a skidder, had Ross Adair miscue and then beat Harry Tector's defences to find the top of the off stump.

Tucker and Gareth Delaney joined forces with Ireland reeling at 64/4. After playing themselves into rhythm, the Irish went on the onslaught during a 101 partnership. Delaney scored 56 off 30 balls, with the help of three fours and four sixes.

The Irish captain may have snatched the game away from Oman, with a memorable innings of unbeaten 94 off just 51 balls, the highest individual score of this edition. It was George Dockrell who added the final flourish, scoring 35 off just nine balls, including three sixes off the last three balls of the innings. Ireland hit a total of 13 sixes and 21 fours and notched 86 runs in the last four overs.

Faced with a tall task, Oman stuttered at the start, losing captain Singh and Ashish Odedara in the third over.

There was a glimpse of hope for Oman when Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza were at the crease. They put on a brisk 73-run stand for the third wicket. While Kaleem scored 50 off 29, Mirza contributed with 46 off 37. But Kaleem's wicket seemed to break the Omani resistance as they slipped from 97/3 to 139 all out in 18 overs.

The Irish bowlers were in good nick on the day. Left-arm pacer Josh Little checked the middle and lower order with 3/16, while Matthew Humphreys and Ben McCarthy claimed two wickets each.

South Africa Men’s Squad - ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026

Aiden Markram (captain, Momentum Multiply Titans), Corbin Bosch (Momentum Multiply Titans), Dewald Brevis (Momentum Multiply Titans), Quinton de Kock (DP World Lions), Marco Jansen (Momentum Multiply Titans), George Linde (World Sports Betting Western Province), Keshav Maharaj (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kwena Maphaka  (DP World Lions), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Anrich Nortje (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kagiso Rabada (DP World Lions), Ryan Rickelton (DP World Lions), Jason Smith (Hollywoodbets Dolphins) and Tristan Stubbs (Dafabet Warriors).

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026

Group D Fixtures

Monday, 9 February at 3.30pm SAST

South Africa v Canada - Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad - SA won by 57 runs

Wednesday, 11 February at 7.30am SAST

South Africa v Afghanistan - Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad - SA won in second Super Over

Saturday, 14 February at 3.30pm SAST

New Zealand v South Africa - Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad - SA won by seven wickets

Tuesday, 18 February at 7.30am SAST

South Africa v United Arab Emirates - Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi