Everything comes down to one match now! The defending champions face West Indies on Sunday at Eden Gardens. The winner goes through to the semi-final automatically. It’s basically a T20 World Cup 2026 quarterfinal happening right now.
South Africa already booked their spot with an unbeaten run. They demolished the West Indies by 9 wickets in Ahmedabad recently. That result changed everything for the remaining teams dramatically.
Breaking Down the Super 8 Group 1 Points Table
| Pos | Team | P | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa (Q) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | +2.890 |
| 2 | West Indies | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | +1.791 |
| 3 | India | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -0.100 |
| 4 | Zimbabwe (E) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -4.475 |
South Africa sits comfortably at the top with four points. They’ve won both matches convincingly. Their net run rate stands at an impressive +2.890 currently.
West Indies and India both have two points each. They’ve each won one match and lost one. West Indies holds a better net run rate at +1.791. India’s defending champions’ net run rate sits at -0.100 unfortunately.
Zimbabwe got eliminated after losing both their matches badly. Their net run rate of -4.475 tells the painful story. They couldn’t compete against the top teams at all.
How South Africa Dominated Group 1
South Africa chased down 177 against the West Indies in just 16.1 overs! Aiden Markram smashed 82 not out brilliantly. Quinton de Kock scored 47 in their opening partnership.
The pair added 95 runs together at the top. Ryan Rickelton remained unbeaten on 45 alongside Markram. South Africa never looked troubled during the entire chase.
Their unbeaten tournament record speaks volumes about their form. They’re clearly the team to beat in the T20 World Cup 2026 tournament. No opponent has managed to stop them yet.
India’s Path to Qualification
The team kept their hopes alive by beating Zimbabwe by 72 runs. The Chennai victory came at the perfect time. Now everything depends on their Kolkata clash.
The match versus West Indies is a straight knockout. The winner takes the second semi-final spot from Super 8. The loser goes home despite being the defending champions.
Net run rates won’t matter in this scenario. It’s simple – win and advance, lose and pack bags. The pressure on both teams will be absolutely enormous.
In Group 2, England qualified with two wins. New Zealand has three points. Pakistan sits on one point. Sri Lanka got eliminated after losing to New Zealand!
