South Africa produced a performance of genuine authority against the West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 26. They defeated the Caribbean side by nine wickets in their Super 8 Group 1 clash. West Indies recovered admirably through Jason Holder's 49 and Romario Shepherd's maiden T20I half-century of 52 not out after they slumped to 83 for 7 inside 11 overs. Their efforts dragged the team to a competitive 176 for 8, yet their resilience ultimately counted for little.

Markram's Masterclass Puts South Africa on the Verge of T20 World Cup History

Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock launched the chase with a quick-fire 95-run opening stand. From that point forward, the result looked like a foregone conclusion. Markram batted with a clarity and confidence that has defined South Africa's entire campaign. He brought up his fifty in just 27 balls. He finished on an unbeaten 82 off 46 deliveries, steering his side home with 23 balls to spare. Markram now holds the record for the most half-centuries by any South African in the tournament's history with six.

Chasing History

The innings carried significance well beyond the result itself. Through this knock, Markram surpassed Rohit Sharma's tally. He moved to second place on the all-time list of most runs by a captain in a single T20 World Cup edition. He has accumulated 264 runs across six matches in the 2026 tournament. Pakistan's Babar Azam, who scored 303 runs in six matches during the 2021 edition, remains at the summit of that record.

Furthermore, Markram now sits just 56 runs away from overtaking Virat Kohli's all-time single-edition record of 319 runs, set back in 2014. South Africa face Zimbabwe next on March 1 at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. That fixture presents Markram with a very real opportunity to rewrite T20 World Cup batting history entirely. Moreover, the Proteas now look like the team to beat in this ICC T20 World Cup 2026.