Pakistan seal Super 8 spot; India, South Africa finish unbeaten

Broadcast details for Men's T20 World Cup 2026

Another big day at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Wednesday as the opening group stage gets near its completion.

The action commenced in Delhi where South Africa dominated UAE to remain unbeaten in the group stage, before Pakistan booked their place in the Super Eights as they beat Namibia in Colombo.

The day finished in Ahmedabad where India and the Netherlands locked horns in a clash that wasn't easy for the defending champions.

India hold firm against Netherlands

Scorecard

In their final group game, India overcame a cagey start against Netherlands to finish at 193/6 in Ahmedabad after opting to bat first.

It was three matches, three ducks for Abhishek Sharma. Coming on the back of two zeroes, Sharma was visibly nervous and his plan of hitting his way into form failed, as he completely missed the ball from Dutch off-spinner Aryan Dutt and saw his stumps knocked over.

Dutt troubled the Indian batters early on and also dismissed the in-form Ishan Kishan (18) as the ball trickled onto the stumps. India finished powerplay at 51/2.

Roelof van der Merwe, 41, pulled off a stunning, diving catch at long-off to end the budding partnership between Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma (31).

After a quiet few minutes, India launched into the attack in the 12th over, with Yadav picking up a six on the leg side. Shivam Dube then got into the act, hitting two sixes and a four, as India amassed 19 runs in the 13th over.

Despite Yadav departing for 34, Dube carried on in the same vein, muscling the ball all around the park. He struck six sixes and four fours for a 31-ball 66. During his innings of 30 off 21, Hardik Pandya crossed the milestone of 6000 runs in T20 cricket. India clobbered 75 runs in the last five overs to take the score to 193/6.

Netherlands were set a target of 194 and they got off to a steady start. The openers put up 35 runs before Varun Chakaravarthy broke through, dismissing Max O'Dowd for 20.

The visitors added another 16 runs with the other opener Michael Levitt, succumbing to Hardik Pandya in the eighth over.

Bas de Leede and Colin Ackermann upped the ante with a 53-run partnership off 26 balls but with the required run rate rising, Ackermann first fell by the sword, holing out in the deep to the bowling of Varun Chakaravarthy.

The Indian spinner was on a hat-trick for a second time in two matches, deceiving Aryan Dutt with a wonderful googly. The well-set De Leede too followed him to the dugout soon after, with India’s batting hero Shivam Dube also making an impact with the ball.

Jasprit Bumrah produced a trademark death rattle to disturb the stumps of skipper Scott Edwards.

Reduced to 125/6 after 16 overs, the Netherlands were staring down the barrel before Zach Lion-Cachet and Noah Croes counter-attacked with a flurry of big hits to narrow the gap.

Croes smashed three boundaries off four balls – two off the last two balls of Washington Sundar’s spell and one off Arshdeep Singh – before Lion-Cachet too got in on the act with a boundary and a six.

Two more boundaries from Croes off Hardik Pandya trimmed the equation to 28 off the final over. But Shivam Dube held his nerve at the death, conceding little and removing Lion-Cachet to seal a 17-run win, as India wrapped up the group stage unbeaten.

Pakistan floor Namibia

Scorecard

Pakistan clinched the last remaining Super Eight berth with a 102-run win over Namibia in a key Group A clash at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on Wednesday.

Sahibzada Farhan overcame cramps to notch an unbeaten hundred and take Pakistan to 199/3 in a pressure match after they had elected to bat. Namibia fell well short, folding at 97 to wrap up their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign.

Namibia had inspired hope as they raced to a 32-run opening partnership. Left-arm pacer Salman Mirza provided the breakthrough as he rushed through the defences of Jan Frylinck.

Once Pakistan spinners came into the attack, Namibia were unable to piece together a recovery. Louren Steenkamp (23) and Alexander Volschenk (20) were the only Namibian batters to register double figures.

Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz (1/22), leg-spinner Shadab Khan (3/19) and Usman Tariq (4/16) spun a web of mystery around the batters to complete Pakistan's biggest win in the Men's T20 World Cup.

Earlier in the day, it wasn't the most fluent start for Pakistan, but put 47/1 on the board in Powerplay. The former champions switched gears in the ninth over, scoring 22 runs off leg-spinner Willem Myburgh. Captain Salman Agha began the over by dancing down the track to hit a six straight down the ground, before Farhan hit two successive sixes.

There was a little wobble in the middle as Agha and Khawaja Nafay departed in quick succession. Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus put the skids on the scoring rate with some smart bowling and sent back Nafay caught and bowled.

However, Farhan continued to press on and employed the sweep shot to good effect during his incredible knock under pressure. His second fifty came off just 20 balls, as Farhan finished at 100 off 58. It was the first T20I hundred for him and only the second in the Men's T20 World Cup by a Pakistani batter.

South Africa continue winning run

Scorecard

South Africa ended their group stage unbeaten as they defeated UAE by six wickets in New Delhi, chasing down a modest target of 123 in 13.2 overs.

Put into bat, UAE looked fluent for the first four overs, but South Africa pegged them back with a couple of wickets. From 36/0 after four overs, UAE slipped to 44/2 at the end of Powerplay, with openers Aryansh Sharma and Muhammad Waseem back in the pavilion.

Pacer Corbin Bosch was the one who provided the breakthrough and led the South African fightback in a brilliant spell of 3/12 in four overs. Anrich Nortje claimed 2/28, while George Linge chipped in with a wicket to hold UAE to 122/6.

Alishan Sharafu, who has come up with some vital contributions this World Cup, was once again the top-scorer for UAE, notching 45 off 38 balls. But the UAE middle and lower order was put under pressure by South Africa in overcast conditions in New Delhi.

After rain delayed the start of the second innings, South Africa came out strong, bringing up 56/2 in Powerplay. Aiden Markram was off to a flier, scoring 28 in 11, with the help of five fours and a six, but he was castled by Haider Ali.

Though they lost the openers in the first six overs, Dewald Brevis (36) and Ryan Rickleton (30) steadied the innings with a 49-run partnership and took the Proteas to the brink of a dominant victory.