Dominant South Africa decimate UAE to complete sweep of Group D

Four games, four wins: South Africa ended the group stage unbeaten with a comfortable six-wicket win against UAE in their T20 World Cup 2026 fixture on Wednesday (February 18).

Looking to test their bench, South Africa made four changes, while UAE made two. Put in to bat with rain looming in the distance, UAE began positively, with Muhammad Waseem hitting a hat-trick of fours off Kagiso Rabada. However, George Linde's entry in the fifth over, on a ground with relatively low average turn so far, slowed them down, stopping Waseem's charge. Corbin Bosch then targeted the back-of-length channel, generating extra bounce that accounted for Aryansh Sharma and Sohaib Khan.

In fact, UAE were constantly challenged by the short ball: at one point, their top-scorer Alishan Sharafu misread a Kwena Maphaka bouncer, the ball pinging off his helmet and flying behind to the ropes. Syed Haider's attempt to evade another bouncer led to his fall, giving Anrich Nortje his first T20I wicket since the 2024 World Cup final.

Sharafu kept moving around his crease to find room, even surviving a relay-catch attempt at the boundary, when Nortje, at fine-leg, tossed the ball back to Jason Smith, who couldn't hold on. The short-ball ploy continued. Sharafu was hit again on the helmet by Bosch in the 16th over, the protective guard at the back of his helmet falling off and leading to another concussion test. Next ball, Nortje missed a difficult chance off his bat at deep third man.

The following over, Bosch spilled the fourth chance of the innings, adding to a forgettable day for South African fielders, a sequence that began with the ever-reliable Quinton de Kock in the third over itself.

Sharafu's fighting knock met its end in the 18th over (to another short ball), with UAE ambling to 122 for 6 in 20 overs. South Africa's response had to be pushed back due to showers, a rare occurrence at this time of the year in Delhi.

When the skies cleared, UAE began with spin, soon employing it from both ends to tie down Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock. It seemed to backfire initially: the South Africa captain took 18 runs off left-arm spinner Haider Ali's first five balls, but was bowled off the sixth. For the first time after 23 overs, a UAE spinner had a wicket in the tournament.

Ryan Rickelton started with a flurry of fours, but de Kock's attempt to free his arms led to his fall, cutting one straight to third man. Dewald Brevis, the next man in, was hit on the left glove by a rising delivery, requiring a quick look by the physio.

The post-rain stickiness ensured Brevis started slow, but a ferocious pull for six off Jawadullah cleared up signs of rust. A six off Haider particularly stood out, making room and launching him over the covers with the turn. To break Brevis' flow, the UAE seamers took pace off the ball, but the asking rate never really challenged the batters. Between overs 7 and 10, Rickelton was the silent partner, facing just three balls, but evened it out with two sixes off Muhammad Farooq's first three balls. The very next ball, he fell in the deep attempting a third.

Brevis followed him next over, attempting to quickly close off the chase but only managing to hole out to mid off. There was little trouble after that though, as Tristan Stubbs and Jason Smith wrapped up the win with 40 balls to spare.

Corbin Bosch, whose third wicket was the 100th of his T20 career, bagged the Player of the Match award. He admitted there was "some nip early on", commending his fellow bowlers for "communicating fantastically", also adding that the rain in the morning helped them a bit.

South Africa will now face India in their Group 1 Super Eight match in Ahmedabad, on Sunday (February 22).

Brief Scores: UAE 122/6 (Alishan Sharafu 45, Muhammad Waseem 22, Corbin Bosch 3-12, Anrich Nortje 2-28) lost to South Africa 123-4 in 13.2 overs (Dewald Brevis 36, Ryan Rickelton 30, Muhammad Arfan 1-16, Muhammad Farooq 1-19)