ICC 2026 Men's T20 World Cup | Match 47: South Africa vs West Indies | Preview and Prediction

It is the game that will be viewed by over a billion people with varying degrees of expectations. India will be looking on with expectations as South Africa will take on a power-packed West Indies side in what has all the makings of a six-hitting showdown at Ahmedabad in Match Number 47 of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. 

Here is our Preview and Prediction for the game.

ICC 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup | Match 47: South Africa vs West Indies | 15:00, 26 February

South Africa resembles a runaway freight train with the way they have been dispatching their opponents with ridiculous ease. And the biggest statement from their side was the manner in which they trounced the co-hosts and defending champions India. 

Despite finding themselves in early trouble at 20/3 after electing to bat first, they never felt like losing their way even once. First, Dewald Brevis and David Miller steadied the ship before pressing on the accelerator. And once Miller was dismissed, Tristan Stubbs assumed the mantle of destroyer as his blistering knock towards the end propelled the Proteas to an above-par score of 187.

However, with the ball, it felt like they held India to an impenetrable prison. They utilised India’s achilles heel against off-spin, with skipper Aiden Markram opening the bowling and accounting for Ishan Kishan in just the 4th ball. And that wicket probably set the tone for the events to follow as each bowler pushed India back into a corner as the defending champions had zero answers to whatever South Africa threw at them. 

South Africa look to be the most well-rounded and balanced sides in the competition, and seem to have almost all boxes ticked. The fact that Ahmedabad has become a kind of a home base for them this tournament has also worked to their advantage as they are pretty much acclimatised to the conditions that have been on offer and have been able to stay a cut above the rest of the sides in the contest. 

However, they are up against a West Indies side who also happen to be peaking at just about the right time in this competition. They started off with convincing wins over the likes of Italy, England, and Nepal. However, they well and truly came into their own against Zimbabwe in the Super 8 stage. Having been put to bat first, the Windies gave the entire tournament a taste of how devastating and dangerous they can be.

Led by the marauding and rampaging Shimron Hetmyer, who seems revitalised and re-energised in the new role at Number 3, Daren Sammy’s men bulldozed their way to a mammoth 254. Zimbabwe did not stand a prayer as the Windies spin duo of Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie completely ran through their batting-line up as the two-time T20 World Cup Champions secured a huge 107-run win.

While West Indies also look to be having most of their bases covered, they will be looking towards their opening pair of Brandon King and Shai Hop for a much more solid and pronounced opening stand. Both are hugely talented players, but have not been able to give impetus to their side with the bad, explaining their relatively modest returns in the batting powerplay.

While fans of both sides will be watching the game, this game will also see throngs of Indian eyes on the game as well with South African allegiances, given that India’s progress more or less depends on the Proteas emerging victorious against the Calypso boys.

The head-to-head between the two sides in the tournament is firmly skewed in South Africa’s favour. In the 5 times they have played each other in T20 World Cups, the Proteas have won 4 times, with their recent victory coming in the last World Cup in 2024, where South Africa won a closely-fought encounter by 3 wickets via the DLS method in a rain-interrupted match at Antigua.

It is a contest that is genuinely too close to call. West Indies and South Africa have arguably been two of the best teams entering into the Super 8 stages if you look at the formbook and the manner of their victories have also been dominating in all aspects. However, South Africa will be the slight favourites in this contest solely due to the fact that they have much more experience playing matches in Ahmedabad, but it is just a matter of fine margins where they are favourites.

Fantasy 11: Quinton de Kock (wk), Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer ( c ), Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Jason Holder, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Kagiso Rabada.

Winners Prediction: South Africa.

Venue: Narendra Modi International Stadium, Ahmedabad.