Lungi Ngidi shines as Proteas overpower Canada in T20 World Cup

Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi was one of the Proteas players who came into the 2026 T20 World Cup on a great run of form ignited by the latest edition of the SA20.

Ngidi brought this form into South Africa’s opening World Cup clash against Canada on Monday, taking four wickets and helping his country claim a 57-run win in their opening game.

Ngidi battered Canada’s opening batters, reducing the side to 26-3 by the end of the third over. It was a terrible start for the North Americans, who were chasing South Africa’s commanding total of 213-4 — the highest tally in the 2026 tournament to date.

Ngidi recorded figures of 4-31 to underline his importance in South Africa’s quest for a maiden senior World Cup title in a limited-overs competition.

Golden duck

Ngidi’s rampage began with the dismissal of Canada’s captain, Dilpreet Bajwa, with the first ball of the Proteas bowling spell; a golden duck. Next to head back to the pavilion at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad was Yuvraj Samra (for 12 runs). Ngidi pounced once more in the over, combining with fellow seamer Kagiso Rabada to send Nicholas Kirton packing.

Even though the match was just three overs in, it appeared that the writing of a Canadian defeat was on the wall.

But while wickets tumbled around him, Canada’s No 3, Navneet Dhaliwal, put up a fight to frustrate the South Africans. He eventually succumbed to the bowling of T20 World Cup debutant Corbin Bosch, who bowled a deceptively slow off-cutter to dismiss Dhaliwal for a valiant 49-ball 64.

Dhaliwal was dismissed in the final over, and Canada, participating in just their second T20 World Cup, had managed only 158 for eight in their allotted 20 overs.

Batting warm-up

Earlier, the Proteas lost the toss and were put in to bowl first by the Canadians, whose captain, Bajwa, said he and his compatriots were “very excited to be playing against South Africa, the runners-up at the last World Cup”.

The T20 format undoubtedly favours batters, and the Proteas’ willow-wielders probably had that at the back of their minds, especially against a rising cricket nation such as Canada. Despite the team eventually crossing the 200 mark, there was an air of complacency among the batters, particularly at the top of the order.

The Canadians had fired a warning shot that they would be no pushovers in the fixture by claiming the prized scalp of opener Quinton de Kock in the seventh over. Then Ryan Rickelton and his captain, Aiden Markram, managed to steady the ship to set a foundation for the big hitters to lay into Canada’s bowlers later on.

Markram brought up his 50 off just 28 balls. The South African skipper could have added more runs to his total had he maintained his momentum in a measured manner. However, after reaching his half-century, he tried a few too many big shots in succession.

This led to the first wicket of the match, when Markram was caught by Dillon Heyliger on the fence off the bowling of Ansh Patel after attempting to slash one over the long-on boundary.

The fall of Markram’s wicket triggered a mini collapse by the South African batters, who went from 126-1 to 138-4 in just two overs. During that period, Patel added the prized wickets of Rickelton (33 off 21 balls) and the belligerent Dewald Brevis, who chipped in with just six runs.

David Miller and Tristan Stubbs chipped in with unbeaten knocks of 39 and 34, respectively, to propel the Proteas over the 200 mark.

Despite the positive outcome for the South Africans, they will be under greater pressure as the tournament progresses, and a more measured approach from their belligerent batting lineup will be required. DM