ICC Men's T20 WC 2026 | Match 13: South Africa vs Afghanistan | Preview and Prediction
Afghanistan will look to bounce back from their opening-day defeat as they face a formidable South Africa side looking to make it two wins in two in what promises to be a feisty Match 13 at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Here, we present our preview and predictions for the game.
ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 13: South Africa vs Afghanistan | 11:00, 11 February
South Africa could not have asked for a better start to their World Cup campaign as they registered a commanding 57-run victory against Canada, dominating proceedings from start to finish.
The Proteas put on a formidable total in excess of 200 against Canada, with Aiden Markram’s 32-ball 59 being the highlight of their innings alongside supporting contributions from Ryan Rickelton, David Miller, and Tristan Stubbs.
With the ball, they showed the quality, variety, and skill they possess in their ranks. Ensuring Canada never got going in their run chase, they picked up wickets at regular intervals to stifle any sort of momentum that the North American outfit looked to build in their innings.
Lungi Ngidi was the pick of the SA bowlers, with his four-wicket haul ably supported by the discipline and control of Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, and Corbin Bosch. The Proteas will feel like they have managed to tick a lot of boxes in their first outing, with bigger tests yet to come.
One area they will want to take a look at is Quinton de Kock’s outing with the bat. The veteran looked laboured and out of sync with the bat against Canada, making just 25 off 22 balls at a pretty ordinary strike rate of 113.64. South Africa will be hoping that he shakes off the rust and comes good against the Afghans.
Speaking of Afghanistan, it was a stuttering start to the tournament for them as they fell rather comprehensively to New Zealand, their score of 182 proving no match for the batting might of the Kiwis. They felt that they had enough runs on the board, but you could not help but wonder whether they left at least 15–20 runs out there. The opening pair of Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz failed to fire, and while Gulbadin Naib provided a good launchpad with his quickfire knock through the middle, he failed to find enough support around him.
With the focus on their much-vaunted spin attack, Mujeeb Ur Rahman got Afghanistan to a dream start with the ball, but Tim Seifert ensured that there were no more hiccups as he took the attack to them. The likes of Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mohammad Nabi, and Azmatullah Omarzai went for in excess of ten runs an over, thereby allowing the game to slip away rather easily.
Afghanistan will probably rue the fact that they did not give Noor Ahmad a place in the XI, especially given he knew the conditions at Chepauk, and the fact that New Zealand had four left-handed batters in their ranks, making him a favourable match-up against them. Given South Africa also have at least three southpaws in their top six, expect Noor to be given a nod to play this time.
The last time these two teams met in a Men’s T20 World Cup was the semi-finals of the 2024 edition of the tournament in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago, where the Proteas made easy work of the Afghans, who were playing their first-ever semi-final, and skittled them out for just 56 before chasing the target with ease.
Afghanistan have come a long way since then, and this will be a contest between two high-quality sides that look evenly matched on paper. However, given the manner in which South Africa dispatched Canada, and with Afghanistan looking a little ruffled after their loss to New Zealand, it’s the runners-up from the previous edition who start as our favourites for the win here.
Fantasy XI: Aiden Markram (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Gulbadin Naib, David Miller, Mohammad Nabi, Marco Jansen, Rashid Khan, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada
Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Winners Prediction: South Africa
