India and South Africa renew rivalry in Ahmedabad as the T20 World Cup reaches the Super Eights, with both sides among the favourites to progress
The T20 World Cup moves into the Super Eights with a mouth-watering showdown: defending champions India face a red-hot South Africa. The game starts on Sunday, February 22 at 19:00 local time (13:30 GMT) at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.
Broadcasters and live-text coverage begin building up from 10:30 GMT.
There’s history here. These sides met in the last tournament’s final — a match India took — and both teams sailed through their group stages unbeaten. That backstory adds a little extra heat: two confident lineups, familiar pit stops and new wrinkles to their tactics.
How they made it this far
India have relied on depth and flexibility. Steady starts from the openers, a middle order that can flip the tempo, and seamers who combine early movement with tidy death overs have been their hallmarks.
On slower surfaces, spinners offer control and can pick up key middle-over wickets.
South Africa’s path has leaned on raw pace and athletic fielding. Their quicks strike early and have the knack for closing out chases; the batting group blends power with smart strike rotation, so they can both set imposing totals and pace a chase. Exceptional ground-fielding has saved runs and produced game-changing moments.
Key battles to watch
Up front it’s about India’s top order versus South Africa’s new-ball pace. If the Proteas extract movement, India may find themselves on the back foot and forced to hand more responsibility to spin. Conversely, early strikes from India’s seamers would test South Africa’s middle order with a mix of pace and off-pace variations.
The death overs could decide this one. India’s repertoire — slower balls, well-executed yorkers and clever field placements — will be matched against South Africa’s accuracy and short-ball aggression. How many runs are scored in the powerplay, and whether wickets fall early, will shape the entire contest.
Pitch, captains and tiny margins
A slow track would play into India’s spinner-heavy plans; a bouncy surface would boost South Africa’s fast-bowling strengths. Captains will juggle field placements, bowling rotations and match-up moves while keeping an eye on over rates. Those small decisions — where to bowl to a dangerous batter, when to invite aerial shots, how aggressively to protect the boundary — will add up over 40 overs.
Voices from the camps
Morne Morkel, the former Proteas quick who works with India’s bowling unit, stressed the value of early breakthroughs. He identified Quinton de Kock and Aiden Markram as key targets and urged disciplined lines in the powerplay to stifle South Africa’s momentum. Morkel also praised South Africa’s composure in close games, noting how fine margins often decide results at this stage.
Questions and storylines
India look powerful on paper but have shown occasional fragility in the middle order. Opener Abhishek Sharma’s recent streak of low scores has worried fans, though the team remains confident that a big innings can restore his form. For South Africa, maintaining their intensity with the ball and sharpness in the field will be crucial. With memorable history between these sides and both teams unbeaten so far, this promises to be a high-stakes, edge-of-the-seat contest.
