South Africa faces United Arab Emirates in the 34th match of Group D at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. This clash at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on February 18 offers the Proteas a chance to cap their group stage unbeaten.
The game kicks off at 11:00 AM local time (IST), with the UTC time at 5:30 AM. Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, hosts this fixture as South Africa eyes a perfect record before Super Eights.
Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium typically favors batters with short boundaries and a quick outfield, leading to high scores around 175-185 if batting first. Teams chasing have won three of four T20s here recently, thanks to dew aiding second innings. Expect cloudy skies at 27°C, winds from WSW at 9 km/h, 56% rain chance with 0.6 mm possible showers, and 85% cloud cover that might cause interruptions.
South Africa has already qualified for Super Eights after three straight wins, making this a tune-up to build momentum and test rotations against a plucky UAE side. UAE, eliminated after losses to New Zealand and Afghanistan, plays for pride and experience against a top team, hoping to end on a high.
South Africa started with a 57-run thrashing of Canada, survived a thriller vs Afghanistan via two Super Overs, and chased down New Zealand comfortably for a 7-wicket win, boasting a +1.477 NRR. Their batting depth and pace attack have shone throughout. UAE crumbled by 10 wickets to New Zealand, scraped a 5-wicket win over Canada, but fell to Afghanistan despite fighting knocks—showing flashes but lacking consistency.
Aiden Markram’s captaincy and middle-order stability stand out for SA, while their pacers like Ngidi (8 wickets) dominate. UAE’s Alishan Sharafu and Sohaib Khan impressed vs Afghanistan, but spinners like Haider Ali remain wicketless. This marks the first T20I head-to-head—no prior meetings—adding intrigue, though SA leads overall records. Rotations like Nortje potentially in for Rabada could test depth.
SA vs UAE Match Details
- Match: South Africa vs UAE, 34th Match
- Teams: SA vs UAE
- Date: 18 Feb 2026
- Time: 10:30 AM 5:30 AM GMT / 11:00 AM LOCAL
- Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
T20 World 2026 Live Streaming Info
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 kicks off on February 7, 2026, and wraps up with the final on March 8, 2026. Hosted across India and Sri Lanka with 20 teams, it spans about a month—group stages from early February, Super 8s mid-month, semis late February/early March, and the final in Colombo or Mumbai.
- In India, tune into Star Sports Network (Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2) or stream on Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema.
- Pakistan viewers can watch on PTV Sports, A Sports, or Ten Sports, with streaming available on Tapmad and Tamasha.
- For Sri Lanka, options include SLRC, Channel Eye, and Siyatha TV on TV, plus Sri Lanka Cricket YouTube and Dialog ViU online.
- UK fans have Sky Sports Cricket, TNT Sports 1, and talkSPORT on television, alongside Sky Go, Discovery+, and NOW TV for streaming.
- In South Africa, SuperSport covers it on TV and via their app.
- Australia might check Fox Sports for TV and Kayo Sports for live streams.
- USA and Canada: Willow TV on TV, Sling TV or Willow HD app for streaming.
- New Zealand: Sky Sport NZ on TV and Sky Go app.
- Bangladesh: Gazi TV (GTV) and Rabith BD app.
- Afghanistan: RTA Sport and Ariana TV.
Rest of the world: ICC.tv for free streaming where no local rights holder exists. Subscriptions often apply, and VPNs can assist with geo-blocks where permitted.
How to Watch the Match for Free:
Catch every boundary without paying via these official free options, perfect for fans in Pakistan and beyond.
Pakistan: PTV Sports broadcasts all matches live for free on TV via terrestrial, cable, and satellite—no subscription needed.
Live Streaming Info:
The 35th T20 World Cup match will be live on Willow Cricket.
Live Score Info:
ICC T20 World Cup 2026: All matches on ESPN and Cricbuzz have live scores.
Head-to-Head
No T20I encounters exist between these sides, making this a fresh battle. In broader history (mostly ODIs), South Africa dominates with wins in all key clashes, like a 146-run victory in 2015. Last five meetings (ODIs): SA won all, including heavy margins—no recent T20 data.
South Africa Analysis
Strengths lie in explosive batting from de Kock, Brevis, and Miller, backed by a lethal pace trio of Ngidi, Jansen, and Nortje/Rabada who exploit new ball movement. Weaknesses? Minimal, but spin reliance on Maharaj/Linde could face dew challenges. Recent form: Unbeaten, with Markram anchoring and bowlers restricting totals effectively.
Probable XI: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi
UAE Analysis
UAE’s strengths are all-round fight from Sharafu and Kaushik, with Waseem’s aggression up top, but weaknesses show in bowling depth—spinners toothless, pacers inconsistent post-powerplay. Recent momentum: Competitive vs Afghanistan but overall 1-2 record exposes finishing issues.
Probable XI: Aryansh Sharma (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Sohaib Khan, Syed Haider, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Haider Ali, Simranjeet Singh, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah
South Africa should cruise to a comfortable win by 30-40 runs or 6 wickets, leveraging superior squad depth, form, and pace on a batter-friendly yet controllable pitch. UAE might push early but lacks firepower to chase big totals—expect Proteas to finish group stage 4-0. (Word count: 812)