India edge past South Africa in high-scoring T20 World Cup warm-up

NAVI MUMBAI: Ishan Kishan's 20-ball half-century, followed by a collective bowling effort, led India to a comfortable 30-run victory over South Africa in the warm-up match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 here at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy on Wednesday.

Opting to bat first in the repeat of the previous edition's final, the home side registered a mammoth total of 240/5 in 20 overs on the board, courtesy of a collective effort from their batters.

Leading the way for them was opening batter Ishan Kishan, who smashed a quickfire 53 off 20 deliveries, studded with seven sixes and two fours, before getting retired out in the sixth over.

Tilak Verma (45), Axar Patel (35 not out), captain Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, 30 each, then made notable contributions at the backend to power the home side to a massive total.

For South Africa, Kwena Maphaka, Anrich Nortje, Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen could pick up a wicket apiece.

Set to chase a daunting 241-run target, the previous edition's runners-up could accumulate 210/7 in their 20 overs and thus succumbed to a 30-run defeat.

Middle-order batter Tristan Stubbs remained their top-scorer with a blistering 45 off 21 deliveries, comprising four sixes and a four, followed by wicketkeeper batter Ryan Rickelton, who made a 21-ball 44.

Besides them, captain Aiden Markram (38), Jason Smith (35) and Jansen (31) made handy contributions, but their efforts could not steer the Proteas over the line.

Abhishek Sharma was the standout bowler for the defending champions, taking two wickets for 32 runs in his three overs, while Varun Chakravarthy, Patel, Shivam Dube and Arshdeep Singh chipped in with one scalp apiece.