South Africa vs New Zealand
South Africa faces New Zealand today, March 4, 2026, in the first semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Wed, Mar 4
7:00 pm IST
ICC Men's T20 World Cup
T20 · 53 of 55
Match Details
- Time: 7:00 PM IST (1:30 PM GMT / 3:30 PM SAST / 2:30 AM+1 NZDT).
- Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India.
- Live Stream: Available on JioHotstar and the Star Sports Network.
Preview & Breakdown
- Current Form:
- South Africa: Remains unbeaten in the tournament (7-0), including a seven-wicket victory over New Zealand during the group stage.
- New Zealand: Reached the semi-finals as "dark horses" with a mixed record, recently securing their spot after a commanding 61-run win over Sri Lanka.
- Key Players to Watch:
- Aiden Markram (SA): The tournament's top run-scorer, averaging 53.60 with a strike rate of 175.16.
- Finn Allen (NZ): A critical aggressive opener with a massive strike rate against South Africa's pace attack.
- Lungi Ngidi (SA) & Marco Jansen (SA): Leading the Proteas' bowling attack; Jansen took 4/40 in their previous meeting.
- Head-to-Head: South Africa holds a 5-0 perfect record against New Zealand in T20 World Cup history.
- Pitch & Conditions: The Eden Gardens surface is expected to be batting-friendly but dry, potentially offering assistance to spinners as the game progresses. Dew is likely to impact the second innings, favoring the team batting second.
Predicted Playing XIs
| South Africa | New Zealand |
|---|---|
| (wk) | Tim Seifert (wk) |
| (c) | Rachin Ravindra |
| Tristan Stubbs | Glenn Phillips |
| Daryl Mitchell | |
| Mark Chapman | |
| Mitchell Santner (c) | |
| Keshav Maharaj | James Neesham (or Cole McConchie) |
| Matt Henry (or Jacob Duffy) | |
| Anrich Nortje | Lockie Ferguson |
| Ish Sodhi |
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