T20 World Cup: South Africa cruise past UAE in final group game to remain unbeaten

South Africa fine-tuned their preparations for the T20 World Cup Super Eights by cruising to a six-wicket win against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in their final group game in Delhi.

Set a target of 123 by the UAE, who had already been eliminated, South Africa knocked off the runs with 40 balls to spare in a match where the only thing that came close to threatening a Proteas victory was the weather.

With qualification for the next stage already secured, South Africa made four changes- resting David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj and Lungi Ngidi- and chose to field first after winning the toss.

UAE made a steady start to their innings through Aryansh Sharma (13) and captain Muhammad Waseem (22), before Corbin Bosch and George Linde struck to remove the openers.

Their hopes of building a competitive total then rested largely on Alishan Sharafu, but with wickets falling around him UAE’s innings faded away.

With Sharafu departing five runs short of what would have been his second half‑century of the tournament, UAE mustered just 20 in the final four overs to finish on 122-6.

The covers came on during the innings break as rain delayed South Africa’s response but when they did return, the Proteas were given a fast start by captain Aiden Markram, who struck an 11-ball 28.

Ryan Rickelton and Dewald Brevis then kept pace with 30 and 36 respectively as the 2024 finalists reached their target in the 14th over.

The UAE’s only win of the tournament was against Canada, while South Africa had a perfect record in Group D with four wins from four matches. (BBC)