T20 WC: Maphaka, Nortje, Linde In For Unbeaten SA As Zimbabwe Opt To Bat First

T20 WC: Maphaka, Nortje, Linde in for unbeaten SA as Zimbabwe opt to bat first (Image Source: IANS)

T20 World Cup: An unbeaten South Africa have brought in Kwena Maphaka, Anrich Nortje and George Linde as Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to bat first in the Super Eights clash of the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.

South Africa, who have already qualified for the semi-finals, had hinted in the pre-match press conference that they would look to rest some of their mainstays, something which they did during their win over the UAE in New Delhi.

With Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj rested, a win for the Proteas here will guarantee them as Group 1 toppers. “They've been working behind the scenes and deserve some game time. This also gives us a chance to see them in action if any injuries occur going forward.

“We would have batted first as well, we've been chasing well and wanted to see how we go batting first. The drive is to continue doing what we've been doing well,” said South Africa skipper Aiden Markram.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza said Richard Ngarava and Tashinga Musekiwa are unavailable due to injuries, and have brought back Wellington Masakadza and Graeme Cremer into their playing eleven, as they aim to sign off from the tournament on a high.

“It's a day game and we have a few injuries, so we're going to bat, as it suits our gameplan. We've seen the reality, we have to see how we can improve and become a mid-table team in 18 months time.”

Playing XIs

“It's a day game and we have a few injuries, so we're going to bat, as it suits our gameplan. We've seen the reality, we have to see how we can improve and become a mid-table team in 18 months time.”

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (captain), Ryan Burl, Tony Munyonga, Clive Madande, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Graeme Cremer and Blessing Muzarabani

Article Source: IANS