West Indies could have just been on the charge had Brandon King been able to hold onto a stellar effort; he pulled out diving to his right to take a difficult catch of Aiden Markram. However, Markram survived, and instead King walked out of the park with the physio with some sort of injury.
The West Indies could manage not more than 176 on the board, after they struggled with their top- and middle-order batting. It was a credit to their batting depth that the West Indies managed to get all those runs on the board. It can be considered as a competitive total.
Brandon King injures himself after dropping Markram early in his innings
Matthew Forde returned with his second over and got smashed for some early runs by Aiden Markram, the South African skipper, who has been in some blazing form for the Proteas coming into this World Cup. The bowler was meticulous with the adjustment and bowled it nicely around the good length, and Markram miscued it to the fielder at covers.
Brandon King dove to his right, full stretch, but the ball only clipped off his fingertips, and he ended up hitting the ground really hard. Not only was the catch dropped, but he also injured himself. He scratched his hands and slammed his elbow onto the ground.
As a result of this, King was immediately taken off the field by the physio who walked in to check on him after the incident.
— Drizzyat12Kennyat8 (@45kennyat7PM) February 26, 2026
Will West Indies bowlers be able to defend a 177-run total?
West Indies bowlers would find a tough time to defend the 177 run total especially against the hard hitting South African batting attack. Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock’s opening pair is backed by the in-form Ryan Rickelton who has been in some touch in this World Cup.
Speaking off, the middle order and the nature of the Ahmedabad pitch, any total below the 200 run mark never seemed ideal to defend. Eventually the Windies failed to defend it, as South Africa ended the winning streak of the men from the Caribbean by a comfortable margin of 9 wickets.
Qualification Scenario of Group A after the SA vs WI game
After South Africa defeated West Indies by a very comfortable margin, they have also affected their net run rate to drop by a slight margin. This has hence opened the gates for India, marking that they should just be focussing on winning the match against Zimbabwe, taking the run rate out of the equation.
West Indies on the other hand still remain in contention with their final match scheduled against India. The India vs West Indies would now almost be a quarter final for them to qualify into the semi-final. The match will be held at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. As of now, South Africa become the second team to advance into the ICC T20 World Cup semis.
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