South Africa is set to face the UAE in their final group match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Wednesday, 18th February. While South Africa aims to keep their unbeaten run going in the tournament, the UAE team will look to end its tournament on a positive note. 

 

South Africa

 

South Africa has been playing really good cricket in the ongoing T20 World Cup tournament. They have won all three group matches in the tournament and have already secured their berth in the Super Eight of the tournament. They are currently sitting at the top of the Group D table. They will be going into this match after thrashing New Zealand in their previous match. While chasing a target of 176 runs, South Africa achieved it in 17.1 overs. Marco Jansen was the standout bowler on that day, scalping four wickets in his bowling spell. Aiden Markram was their best batter, scoring an unbeaten 86 runs from 44 balls to seal the win. The Proteas are currently looking unbeatable at this moment, and they will look to continue their momentum ahead of their Super Eight matches. 

 

UAE

 

The UAE team has one win and two defeats in their three matches. Their only victory has come against Canada, where they picked up a 5-wicket victory. They will be arriving in Delhi after losing to Afghanistan in their last match by 5 wickets. The UAE batters had a poor outing yet again, but somehow the team managed to post 160 runs on the scoreboard. Sohaib Khan and Alishan Sharafu were the best picks from the batters, scoring 68 and 40 runs respectively and helping the team reach a respectable total. However, the in-form batting lineup of Afghanistan chased the target in 19.2 overs with 5 wickets in hand. The bowling from the UAE was decent, but they failed to capitalize on the good length deliveries. Junaid Siddique and Muhammad Arfan were the best bowlers, taking two wickets each. As they have already been eliminated in the tournament, the UAE will look to end their campaign on a positive note.

 

SA vs UAE Match Details

 

SA vs UAE T20I WC Match Details
Match	South Africa vs UAE 34th T20I Match
Date and Time	Wednesday, February 18; 11:00 a.m. IST
Venue	Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi
Broadcasting and live streaming	TV-Star Sports Network, Live Stream-JioHotstar

 

SA vs UAE T20 WC Pitch Report

 

The Arun Jaitley surface is known for providing a batting-friendly surface over the years. Batters will get good help from the surface, helping them pick the good bounced deliveries and play their shots. However, pacers will enjoy the early assistance from the pitch with the new ball. As the match progresses, spinners will extract good turn from the track. Overall, it is a surface that slightly favors batters, but bowlers have to bowl smartly to get good purchase.

 

SA vs UAE T20 WC Weather Report

 

The weather in Delhi is likely to be ideal weather for a cricket game, with no rain predicted during the game. As this is a morning game, the surroundings are expected to be pleasant. The temperatures are likely to hover around 22-24 °C, under mostly clear skies.

 

SA vs UAE Head-to-Head Records

 

• This will be the first face-off between these two sides in this format.

 

SA vs UAE Probable XI

 

• South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram (c), Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

 

• United Arab Emirates: Aryansh Sharma (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Mayank Kumar, Sohaib Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Muhammad Farooq, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Jawadullah

 

Players To Watch Out For in the SA vs UAE Match

 

• Aiden Markram | SA: The South African skipper will be arriving in this game in phenomenal form. He is taking the top-order batting in a different mode, smashing some quick runs, and giving the team the early momentum. He is one of the few overseas stars who can play both spin and pace bowling equally well. In three matches, he has scored .150 runs, including a brilliant unbeaten 86-run knock against New Zealand in the recent encounter. He will yet again be their player to be on the watchlist. 

 

• Sohaib Khan | UAE: This 27-year-old batter is one of the standout batters from the UAE team in the tournament, scoring 126 runs in just three matches with an impressive strike rate of 157.5. He has hit two back-to-back half-centuries in the last two matches against Canada and Afghanistan, where he smashed 51 and 68, respectively. He will be one player to watchout for in this game.

 

• Junaid Siddique | UAE: Junaid is currently the leading pace bowler for the UAE team. His four overs can shape the match. Siddique is a brilliant pace bowling talent who provides crucial breakthroughs for the teams, especially during the middle overs. He grabbed five-for against Canada and then took two wickets against Afghanistan. He will be a player to watchout for. 

 

SA vs UAE Toss Prediction

 

Historical Toss-Winning Stats at the Venue

 

• In the last 6 T20 matches played at this venue, the team winning the toss has opted to bowl first five times, while the team has decided to bat first for once.

 

Advantages of Bowling First on This Pitch

 

• In the last 12 T20I matches played at this venue so far, the teams that batted first have won 5 matches, and those that bowled first have won 7 matches.

 

SA vs UAE Today's Match Scenario

 

Scenario 1

 

• Toss Winner: SA (opts to bowl first)


• Power-Play Score: 35-40


• UAE Total: 140-160


• Match Winner: South Africa

 

Scenario 2

 

• Toss Winner: UAE (opts to bowl first)


• Power-Play Score: 42-45


• SA Total: 180-190


• Match Winner: South Africa

 

Who will win today's SA vs UAE T20 World Cup match?

 

South Africa will start this game as the favourite to win. The Proteas are performing phenomenally well in the tournament and have dominated all three games so far. In contrast, the UAE team has struggled and has managed to get just one win to their name. South African players seem in impeccable form in terms of batting quality and bowling, they will surely pick a victory here.