The T20 World Cup has entered it’s final week with the semifinals and final all taking place in the next seven days. An uplifting first round featured some memorable individual and team performances from the ‘smaller’ nations but, apart from the shock elimination of Australia courtesy of a memorable Zimbabwean slap, the ‘bigger’ teams escaped the early melee.
Neil Manthorp reviews the Super Eight stage and looks ahead to the semifinals.
Match of the Week: West Indies were poised to upset the grandest of plans. A straight quarterfinal with India, and they had everyone on the edge of their seats posting a total of 195-4. Despite a few scary moments at Eden Gardens, Sanju Samson delivered the innings of the second round with a sensational 97 not out from only 50 balls to see India safely into the last four. It was, however, never straightforward until the final over.
India bite back at West Indies to punch their ticket to the #T20WorldCup semi-finals 🇮🇳⏩#SSCricket pic.twitter.com/tZbxLxNnMT
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) March 1, 2026
BATTER: At 20-3 after four overs against the mighty India, favourites, hosts and defending champions, it was surely time for South Africa to pause and take a breath. But David Miller has seen it all before. He’s done ‘consolidation’ on numerous occasions in numerous tournaments. This time he opted for meticulously planned, clinical counter-attack – especially against bogeyman mystery spinner, Varun Chakravarthy. The veteran left-hander belted 63 from 35 balls, Varun conceded 47 from his four, South Africa won by 76-runs and India blinked. As did everyone else remaining in the tournament.
5️⃣0️⃣ up for David Miller 🇿🇦🔥
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) February 22, 2026
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BOWLER: Jasprit Bumrah claimed 3-15 in his four overs against South Africa, a remarkable analysis for most bowlers but not Bumrah. South Africa needed a ‘match.’ Step up Lungi Ngidi who didn’t take a wicket but didn’t concede a single boundary, either, a far rarer feat than a 4-wicket haul. Marco Jansen claimed 4-22 in the same innings but he would be the first to acknowledge that his wicketless teammate played an equally important role in the win.
PERFORMANCE:
UNDER THE RADAR: When Jason Holder and Sherfane Rutherford took 19 off the 18th over from Marco Jansen the West Indies would have passed the 200 mark against South Africa and the run-chase would looked and felt very different. But Lungi Ngidi bowled a full over of cunning slower balls to concede just five from the 19th and Corbin Bosch was similarly frugal in the last. Matches turn upon such moments just as easily as on sixes and wickets.
COMEBACK: England were the first – and least convincing – team to reach the semifinals. Their form in the Super Eights was equally unconvincing. At 106-6 with barely five overs to go, defeat to Sri Lanka loomed. Then Will Jacks whacked 21 from 14 balls and bowled three overs of dirty off-spin in the Power Play to claim 3-26 and bowl the hosts out for 95 and victory by 51-runs.
What an over by Will Jacks 🤯🤯
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) February 22, 2026
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CALCULATOR MAESTROS: Nobody likes losing but manipulating the margin of your defeat so that you still ‘win’ can be oddly satisfying. You would think. After New Zealand’s washout against Pakistan and comprehensive 61-run demolition of Sri Lanka, and Pakistan’s narrow loss to England, the Black Caps knew they could not afford a heavy loss to England. They were in the driver’s seat for much of that match before losing with three balls to spare but had done enough to progress to the semifinals when Pakistan could only scrape past Sri Lanka in the final match. Follow? If not, you’ll understand the importance of having a good calculator operator on the support staff.
SOUTH AFRICAN: Pile onto Dewald Brevis if that tickles your fancy, but understand what South Africa want from him. They have Markram and de Kock to evaluate conditions and set the tempo for an innings, Rickelton, Miller and Stubbs to ‘pace’ the middle overs and bat ‘sensibly’ if needed. From Brevis they want the explosive, match-changing cameo which makes life easier for all of them. Like the 42 from 18 balls against Zimbabwe, 32 of which came in boundaries.
TALKING POINT: The crisis in the Middle East is affecting everyone involved in this tournament. The vast majority of the teams remaining are (or were) relying on the ICC’s partner, Emirates Airlines, to get them home. Currently, all Emirates flights are suspended. It’s a reminder that cricket World Cups, even at semifinal stage, are just sports events.
LOOK OUT FOR: England against India on Thursday preceded by South Africa against the indomitable New Zealanders. An England/New Zealand final would be ‘hilarious’ for the hosts and organisers. India v South Africa, the only unbeaten team, would be the ‘dream’ repeat of the last final in Barbados barely 18 months ago. At the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.