Canada brave but South Africa better as two worlds collide

At the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday, South Africa faced Canada in a men's T20 World Cup match. Canada’s captain Dilpreet Bajwa, leading only his second match at any level and his first internationally, won the toss and chose to bowl first.

South Africa’s openers, Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock, took advantage early. Markram struck boundaries off Dilon Heyliger, while Canada’s Kaleem Sana struggled with wides. De Kock was dropped at short third, and Markram launched a six off Jaskaran Singh. South Africa raced to 66/0 in the powerplay.

Canada fought back in the middle overs. Bajwa bowled De Kock, and Markram fell to a running catch at long-on. Ryan Rickelton and Dewald Brevis also departed, but an unbroken 75-run stand off 39 balls propelled South Africa to 213/4—the highest total of the tournament so far.

Lungi Ngidi struck immediately in Canada’s chase, dismissing Bajwa with an outswinger first ball. He removed Yuvraj Samra and Nicholas Kirton in his second over, finishing with 3/13 early. Kagiso Rabada yorked Shreyas Movva, reducing Canada to 45/4.

Navneet Dhaliwal (64 off 49) and Harsh Thaker shared a 69-run partnership, but Ngidi returned to claim a fourth wicket, ending with 4/31. South Africa won by 57 runs.

Ngidi praised Canada’s effort: “I think they did very well tonight. With the bowling, they were able to apply pressure and they got four wickets in the middle period. That’s world-class for any team. And for us to have them four down in the powerplay and them still being able to bat out their 20 overs, they can be very proud.”

The match highlighted the gap between cricket’s established and emerging nations, but Canada, playing their first game in 159 days against a side with far more exposure, competed with dignity.