T20 World Cup 2026: Who will win India vs South Africa clash? Check out the IND vs SA today match prediction

The Match No. 43 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 will be played between defending champions, India, and the last edition's runners-up, South Africa, at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on February 22. This will be the repeat of the last edition's final, where India became the world champion by defeating South Africa. Now, Aiden Markram & co. will be eyeing to take revenge for that defeat, while India is eyeing to continue their dominance. 

Both teams remained undefeated during the group stage and were the table toppers of their respective groups. India defeated the United States of America, Namibia, Pakistan, and the Netherlands, while South Africa beat Canada, Afghanistan, New Zealand, and the UAE. With this match, both teams will begin their Super 8 campaign as well. Both teams are kept in group 1 along with Zimbabwe and the West Indies. 

IND vs SA: Road to the Super 8s

Pitch Report: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

The Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, has hosted 4 matches in this T20 World Cup 2026 so far, with the team batting first winning 3 matches, while the team chasing won one match. South Africa has played 3 out of 4 matches of their group stage on this ground and won all three matches. Apart from Afghanistan, they defeated Canada and New Zealand one-sidedly. Whereas India defeated the Netherlands by 17 runs on this ground. Whichever team wins the toss will want to put up a big score and put the other team under pressure; otherwise, chasing is a better option on this pitch.

India vs South Africa: Head-to-Head in T20Is

India and South Africa have faced each other 31 times in T20I cricket so far, with India winning 18 and South Africa winning 12 times. The two teams have clashed 7 times in the T20 World Cup history, with India winning 5 times and South Africa winning twice.

IND vs SA: Probable Playing XIs

The Indian team might enter this match with a couple of changes. Axar Patel is once again included in the playing XI. It will be fascinating to watch whether Abhishek Sharma will play this match or if Sanju Samson will be included instead of him. Abhishek Sharma’s nightmare continues, and he is still waiting for his first World Cup run. Apart from that, the rest of the playing XI will probably be the same. South Africa also entered with their full-strength side. Lungi Ngidi, David Miller, and Keshav Maharaj will be back in the playing XI.

Predicted India playing XI

Abhishek Sharma/Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy

Predicted South Africa playing XI

Aiden Markram ©, Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi

Players to watch out for in the IND vs SA T20 World Cup 2026 match 

Best batter: Ishan Kishan (India)

Ishan Kishan is currently in solid form. He has scored 176 runs in 4 matches and is India’s leading run scorer of this tournament so far. He will want to continue his form in the next cricket match as well. Against the Netherlands, unfortunately, he was dismissed after scoring 18 runs in just 7 balls. But this time, he wants to play another memorable innings in this World Cup. 

Best bowler: Varun Chakravarthy (India)

Varun Chakravarthy is currently the second leading wicket taker of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, with 9 wickets. In the last match, he took 3 crucial wickets against the Netherlands on the same pitch. He will want to repeat that performance against South Africa also. Apart from taking regular wickets, his economy rate is also excellent. South Africa is not considered a good team against spin, and Chakravarthy can trouble them.