South Africa made a flying start to the World Cup, beating Canada by 57 runs. Quinton de Kock and captain Aiden Markram put on 70 for the first wicket after being asked to bat, and both have been striking at over 170 in 2026. The Proteas have also scored well in Ahmedabad before, topping 200 in both of their earlier T20Is there. David Miller and Tristan Stubbs batting at five and six add power, and Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen give the attack a sharp edge.
Afghanistan showed fight with the bat against New Zealand, even though most of the main batters failed to convert starts. Gulbadin Naib hit 63 off 35 balls at number three to keep them in the game. Rahmanullah Gurbaz needs to find form at the top, and Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai can contribute in the middle and lower order.
Consistency remains the main issue for Afghanistan. Conditions should help batting, and 160-plus is realistic if the top order clicks, but their pace attack has lacked reliability, leaving Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan to supply most of the breakthroughs.
