IND vs SA, T20 World Cup 2026: India warm up with victory over South Africa

The Indian cricket team beat South Africa by 30 runs in their T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up match at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday.

Ishan Kishan finished as India’s top scorer with 53 off 20 balls as the hosts made the most of their final outing before the T20 World Cup to give valuable match time to nearly the entire batting line-up.

The South African cricket team’s chase suffered an immediate setback as Arshdeep Singh struck in the opening over, removing George Linde for a duck to hand India the early breakthrough.

Skipper Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton then mounted a brisk counter-attack, stitching together a 65-run stand to steady the innings before the South African captain retired out at the end of the powerplay.

The momentum quickly swung back India’s way as new batter Dewald Brevis and Rickelton departed in quick succession, leaving the Proteas reeling at 96/4 at the start of the 10th over.

Dangerman David Miller was unable to make an impact, falling in the 11th over and despite useful contributions from Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen, South Africa never seriously threatened to overhaul India’s mammoth target.

Earlier, India opted to bat after winning the toss, with the opening pair of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan setting the tone with a blistering start for the Men in Blue.

Kishan raced to a 20-ball half-century before retiring out with India surging to 80/1 in 5.4 overs.

Abhishek Sharma retired hurt a couple of overs later, leaving new batters Tilak Varma and T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav to build on India’s formidable start.

Tilak Varma and India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav kept the pressure firmly on the South African attack, adding a rapid 66-run stand for the third wicket.

Varma’s cameo came to an end in the 11th over after scoring 45 off just 19 deliveries to keep India firmly on top in the contest. Suryakumar Yadav also departed two overs later.

Axar Patel and Rinku Singh then strung together a 37-run stand to push India past the 200-mark.

Rinku Singh perished in the 18th over, making way for new man Hardik Pandya, who proceeded to play a belligerent knock of 30 off just 10 balls to propel India to a total of 240/5.

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against the USA on Saturday.

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