South Africa 213 for 4 (Markram 59, Miller 39*, Ansh 3-31) beat Canada 156 for 8 (Dhaliwal 64, Ngidi 4-31) by 57 runs
South Africa's first T20 World Cup match since the heartbreak of the 2024 final proved a substantially less fraught affair. In the echoing environs of the Narendra Modi Stadium, they were made to work just hard enough by Canada in the first meeting between the two nations, eventually easing to a 57-run victory thanks to Aiden Markram's 28-ball fifty, and 4 for 31 from Lungi Ngidi.
Canada fought hard in patches, principally through Ansh Patel's three wickets of wristspin, then a feisty half-century from Navneet Dhaliwal, whose 64 from 49 was the highest score of the match. Most of his runs came in a fifth-wicket stand of 69 with Harsh Thaker that cracked along at eight an over even as the rate continued to rise. By then, however, Ngidi had claimed three of his wickets in the powerplay to wreck any realistic hopes of an upset.
Full report to follow
