ICC Men’s T20 WC 2026 | Match 24: New Zealand vs South Africa | Preview and Prediction

It’s a clash of the heavyweights in Group D as New Zealand face South Africa in Match 20 of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, with qualification to the Super Eight stage up for grabs.

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

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 24: NZ vs SA | 19:00, February 14, 2026

New Zealand are motoring along like a well-oiled machine, which is not surprising given their ability to always bring their A-game to ICC tournaments. With two convincing and commanding victories against Afghanistan and the UAE, they are now well-placed to make it to the next stage of the tournament.

Tim Seifert has been an absolute menace for opposition bowlers at the top of the order. His uncanny ability to take the attack to the opposition, no matter how good they are, ensures that the Kiwis are always a step ahead when push comes to shove. Seifert is currently leading the run-scoring charts for the tournament after posting half-centuries in both the matches he has played, and with the way he’s been going, you can’t put it past him to score a fair few runs more as the tournament progresses.

The rest of the Kiwi batting unit has not really had a chance to play too much, given they beat the UAE by ten wickets, though Finn Allen would be glad to be back among the runs after being dismissed rather cheaply against Afghanistan in Chennai.

The Kiwi bowlers have acquitted themselves nicely. The likes of Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy, and Mitchell Santner have been among the wickets, with the fast bowlers allaying any concerns regarding injury-related slowdowns with disciplined performances.

All all in, New Zealand seem to have all the bases covered and will be looking to make another deep run in the tournament.

As far as their opponents for this game are concerned, South Africa might have won both their games thus far, but those victories were like chalk and cheese. After cruising to victory against Canada in their opening game, the Proteas were pushed to their absolute limits, as Afghanistan fought tooth and nail and took them further than any match has gone, in what is now being touted as arguably the greatest T20 World Cup match ever.

It took two Super Overs for South Africa to dispatch the Afghans, and it was more of a sigh of relief than an outcry of joy in the celebration of the players post the victory.

The South African batting unit has been pretty elite, with Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, and David Miller having all been among the runs. The bowling, with the exclusion of Lungi Ngidi, could probably be a little better, especially given it was Kagiso Rabada’s no-ball that stopped the team from winning the match against Afghanistan in the regulation 20 overs.

South Africa enjoy a rather brilliant head-to-head record against the Kiwis in T20 World Cups, having won all four of their previous encounters in the tournament. The last game between the two at this event took place all the way back in 2014, where the Proteas edged the contest by just two runs.

While both sides are unbeaten in the tournament thus far, South Africa will be a little more devoid of rest given the toll their last game must have taken both physically and mentally.

With New Zealand having also had an extra day’s rest on top of a comfortable beginning to the tournament, we expect them to start as favourites to win this contest.

Fantasy XI: Tim Seifert (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Finn Allen, Ryan Rickelton, David Miller, Daryl Mitchell, Marco Jansen, Mitchell Santner, Lungi Ngidi, Keshav Maharaj, Lockie Ferguson

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Winners Prediction: New Zealand