Proteas go down to India in worthwhile T20 World Cup warm up

The Proteas went down to India by 30 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday, in their only warm up match ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup being hosted by India and Sri Lanka over the next month.

Despite the defeat it was a worthwhile outing for the South Africans, as a number of players got some valuable game time, although they will be a bit disappointed that they weren’t able to take more wickets or put up a better fight.

India won the toss and batted first, slamming their way to a monster 240/5 at the end of their 20 overs, with Ishan Kishan, 53 off 20 balls (2×4; 7×6), and Tilak Varma, 45 off 19 (3×4; 3×6), at the top of the order, and Hardik Pandya, 30 off 10 (2×4; 3×6) at the end making big contributions.

But every batter pitched in as Axar Patel, 35no off 23 (2×4; 2×6), Suryakumar Yadav, 30 off 16 (2×4; 2×6), Abhishek Sharma, 24 off 18 (3×4; 1×6), and Rinku Singh, 16 off 13 (1×4; 1×6) also contributed.

Proteas bowlers

The Proteas bowlers largely struggled, as only four of the eight used picked up a wicket each, namely Marco Jansen, Kwena Maphaka, Corbin Bosch and the very expensive Anrich Nortje, while India retired out Kishan and Sharma retired hurt.

The Proteas chase was then lit up by five players, but they finished well short of their target in the end, however it was good to see David Miller successfully return from an injury picked up in the SA20, although he only scored 13.

Captain Aiden Markram slammed 38 off 19 balls (2×4; 4×6) before retiring out, Ryan Rickelton clubbed 44 off 21 (4×4; 3×6), and Jason Smith got in some valuable time in the middle hitting 35 off 23 (4×4; 1×6).

At the end of the innings Tristan Stubbs had a bit of fun, crashing three of the last four balls of the match for six in his 45no off 21 (1×4; 4×6), while Jansen knocked 31 off 16 (3×4; 1×6), as they finished on 210/7.

The Proteas open their T20 World Cup campaign against Canada in Ahmedabad on Monday night, before playing Afghanistan, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates in their other pool matches.