South Africa have become the second team after England to enter the semi-finals of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Their spot was sealed when India beat Zimbabwe in Chennai on Thursday night and knocked them out of the tournament.
South Africa had beaten West Indies earlier on Thursday to move up to four points; they play Zimbabwe in their final Super Eight match in Delhi on Sunday afternoon. Later on Sunday, India and West Indies – on two points each – face each other in a knockout match in Kolkata to decide the second semi-finalist from Group 1 in the Super Eight stage. West Indies have a superior net run rate of 1.791 to India’s -0.100 but that will not matter unless rain washes out the game in Eden Gardens.
In Group 2, England beat Pakistan and Sri Lanka and moved to the top of the table with four points to seal a semi-final spot. New Zealand are currently second on the table after they beat Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday, knocking the co-hosts out of the tournament.
New Zealand will put an end to all qualification permutations if they beat England at the same venue on Friday. Not only will they qualify, but they will also top the group with five points and play the second-placed team from Group 1 in the semi-finals. If England win that fixture, they will top the group with six points, and also keep Pakistan in the hunt, though Pakistan will have to beat Sri Lanka by a huge margin on Saturday to overcome a fairly significant NRR handicap and get ahead of New Zealand.
If Pakistan are eliminated, both the semi-finals will be played in India, in Kolkata and Mumbai on March 4 and 5.
ESPNCrinfo
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