ICC Men's T20 WC 2026 | Match 43: India vs South Africa | Preview and Prediction

It’s a repeat of last edition’s final in Match 43 of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, as India take on South Africa in what promises to be a blockbuster Super Eight clash in Ahmedabad, with both pre-tournament favourites looking to start their tournament on a winning note.

Here, we present our preview and predictions for the game.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 43: IND vs SA | 19:00 IST, 22 February 2026

India have maintained a 100% winning record in the tournament so far. However, a deeper dive into the performances will show that there are a fair few chinks in what seems to be a rather impenetrable armour from the outside.

To begin things with, the form of Abhishek Sharma will definitely be a big concern going forward. While neither coaches nor players seem too worried about the lack of runs from their premier opener, they will hope that he is among the runs in the Super Eights, given that every team in their group — Super 8 Group 2 — won their respective groups in the previous stage and boast unbeaten records in the tournament so far.

Secondly, another big issue that has come across in India’s seemingly power-packed batting line-up is their limited success against finger-spinners. With India having three left-handed batters in their top six, finger-spinners have proved to be rather successful when going up against them. Two out of Abhishek Sharma’s three ducks have been against them, while Tilak Varma has scored just 26 runs in the 31 balls he played against finger-spin/off-spin.

India as a whole have been rather ordinary against off-spin, scoring at a very measly run-rate of 6.23, which is the third-worst in the tournament. They have also scored runs at a poor and abysmal average of 13.25, which indicates that there are issues in their game in this particular area.

However, what offsets — and, to a certain extent, compensates — India’s issues with finger-spin is their deep and well-rounded batting order. They have had different match-winners in all four games, and the team-first dynamic will be very crucial against South Africa again, against whom they may need a different match-winner to emerge.

India are aware of the fact that dew will play a very significant role in the contest, which was why they decided to win the toss and bat first against the Netherlands, keeping one eye on this game on the off chance that they lose the toss and are put in to bat first.

South Africa, meanwhile, enter this game well familiar with the conditions that will be on offer in Ahmedabad. Having played three out of their four games here, that too at different times and on different pitches, the Narendra Modi Stadium is like a second home for the Proteas, where they next host India.

The runners-up from 2024 seem to have a lot of boxes ticked. They have a batting order that boasts some of the most dangerous players in world cricket when it comes to T20s in Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, David Miller, and skipper Aiden Markram, all of whom have been among the runs. Their bowling has also been top class, with Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, as well as Marco Jansen having all been among the wickets.

The Proteas must have taken note of India’s troubles against off-spin, and it will come as no surprise if Markram himself chooses to open the bowling against Abhishek Sharma to ensure that there are no easy runs on offer for the southpaw, who will be desperate to get off the mark.

This is a mightily difficult game to predict. These are two sides who boast brilliant batting orders, which are also well complemented by their respective bowling units.

India have the home advantage, while South Africa have the advantage of playing in these conditions for a much longer duration. However, with all things said and done, we still expect India to win this match.

Fantasy XI: Abhishek Sharma, Quinton de Kock (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Ryan Rickelton, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Lungi Ngidi

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Winners Prediction: India