South Africa beat New Zealand by seven wickets at the T20 World Cup on Sunday night, thanks to captain Aiden Markram’s powerful 86 not out from 44 balls. The match was played in Ahmedabad, and South Africa reached the target with 2.5 overs left after chasing 175. New Zealand made 175-7, but South Africa replied with 178-3 in a confident run chase.
Left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen helped set up the win by taking 4-40 in his four overs. He removed key New Zealand batters early, including Tim Seifert, Rachin Ravindra and Finn Allen in a sharp burst. When spinner Keshav Maharaj bowled Glenn Phillips for just 1, New Zealand had slipped to 64-4 in only 6.4 overs.
New Zealand recovered through a strong partnership between Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman, adding 74 runs from 44 balls. Chapman was the top scorer with 48 from 26 balls, while Mitchell made 32 from 24. After Chapman was dismissed in the 14th over, New Zealand found it harder to speed up at the end, although James Neesham’s 23 not out gave them something to defend.
Markram then attacked straight away, reaching fifty from only 19 balls, the quickest half-century by a South African at this tournament.
