Raza-sharp Zimbabwe fall to unbeaten Proteas in closing Super Eights T20 World Cup match

South Africa reached the semifinals of the 2026 T20 World Cup with their perfect record still intact after a five-wicket win over Zimbabwe in their closing Super Eights clash on Sunday, 1 March. The Proteas have now won seven out of seven in the global cricket showpiece.

It was delight in Delhi for the Proteas against their neighbours, in spite of the clash not being on their “most impressive” list from the matches they have played so far at the Sri Lanka and India-hosted tournament.

Despite the patchy display, particularly from the batting lineup, the South Africans claimed victory to finish at the summit of Group One in the Super Eights. Kwena Maphaka starred with ball in hand as he picked up two wickets for 21 runs. Corbin Bosch also took two, but he was much more expensive and conceded double Maphaka’s deficit.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza was the player of the match despite his team losing. His 73 runs and three wickets made sure South Africa did not have it all their own way in the southern African derby.

Proteas shuffle the deck

The Proteas lost the toss and Zimbabwe chose to bat first. The South Africans made three changes to the team that crushed the West Indies by nine wickets on Thursday, 26 February. With a spot in the semifinals already booked and a rematch against their group stage opponents New Zealand awaiting, the Proteas could afford to rest some key members of the team.

Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj were the players rested. In came Kwena Maphaka, Anrich Nortje and George Linde.

In their allotted 20 overs, the Zimbabweans finished with a competitive score of 153 for seven. It was a good score by the Zimbabweans, considering that South Africa’s bowlers were claiming regular wickets.

However, it was Zim skipper Raza who kept the scoreboard in motion as he fought back against the Proteas’ bowling attack.

Eventually, the razor-sharp Raza was dismissed for a valiant captain’s knock of 73 from 43 balls. It was Maphaka, the Proteas best bowler on the day at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, who finally snapped Raza’s resistance in the 17th over.

Kwena Maphaka’s party

Teenager Maphaka went on to finish with two for 21 in his four-over shift. He had earlier claimed the first wicket of the match by bowling out Tadiwanashe Marumani. Maphaka is the joint-highest wicket-taker in U-19 Cricket World Cup history (with 28 scalps), a record he coincidentally shares with Zimbabwe’s Wesley Madhevere.

In Delhi, he registered his first wickets in senior World Cups. Judging by the glowing review lavished on him by coach Shukri Conrad in 2025, Maphaka is poised to deliver several similar or better performances in his future.

“As a 19-year-old, when you get given that responsibility, it doesn’t only speak volumes for how highly we rate him, but also the calibre and the mentality that he possesses. He’s a young buck that shows maturity way beyond his years,” Conrad said.

“Just like you need to be patient with batters, you need to be patient with bowlers as well. We are not going to see the best of Kwena Mphaka in the next couple of months. But these are all the building blocks so that we can see the best of Kwena in about three or four years’ time,” the coach said.

Another future leader in the Proteas’ lineup – Dewald Brevis – contributed the most with the bat. Brevis stacked up 42 runs from just 18 balls.

Raza-sharp

But before he could notch up a half-century, he became the third victim of Zimbabwe’s skipper Raza.

Raza also dismissed South African openers Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock to see the South Africans on 14 for two. But his efforts were not enough as the Proteas’ quality shone through for them to claim victory.

Before this game, the Zimbabweans had beaten the Proteas only twice. This is despite the teams engaging in battle 58 times before the clash in Delhi. The Proteas extended their dominant streak over their neighbours to 53 wins, from 59 matches across formats.

The Proteas’ semifinal clash against New Zealand will take place on 4 March. The Kiwis finished as runners-up in Group Two of the Super Eights phase, with England claiming the top spot. DM