Aiden Markram scored a 28-ball 50 and Lungi Ngidi took 4-31 as South Africa beat Canada by 57 runs in their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 opener at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Navneet Dhaliwal hit a 49-ball 64 for the underdogs, who lost four wickets in their first six overs of the Group D contest since 2024 finalists South Africa posted in 2013-4.

The winners are on two points with New Zealand, who beat Afghanistan by five wickets in Chennai on Sunday.

South Africa vs Canada: ICC T20 World Cup 2026

After losing the decider by seven runs to India in the last edition, South Africa are expected to be among the contenders to dethrone the reigning champions and have a squad containing nine of the 15 players from the campaign.

In their second appearance at the tournament, Canada – with new captain Dilpreet Bajwa – lost warm-up games to Italy and Nepal but performed well against an unfamiliar level of pace, with Dhaliwal putting on a 69-run fifth-wicket partnership with Harsh Thackeray.

David Miller, whose fitness was in doubt until last week due to a muscle strain, also scored an unbeaten 39 for South Africa.

Lungi Ngidi: South Africa ‘trial and error’ vs Canada

Player of the match Ngidi said the Proteas had “struggled” with a game plan against “guys you don’t see much”.

“It was trial and error as we got going,” admitted the 29-year-old. “Some balls were going for boundaries, and then we would shift and chat in between and try to do something different.

“We knew our attack brought pace but variation always catches people. I try to do what I do best: keep it simple, good length and then keep changing pace to keep people guessing.

“I have to find a way to take wickets and I’m willing to take risks. That’s how I play. T20 game.”

South Africa vs Canada Teams

South Africa XI: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickleton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, and Lungi Ngidi

Canada XI: Yuvraj Samra, Dilpreet Bajwa (c), Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva (wk), Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskarandeep Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, and Ansh Patel

South Africa, Canada T20 Cricket World Cup Fixtures

is South Africa Next in action against Afghanistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday (05:30 GMT).

They then face New Zealand in the same setting on Saturday (13:30).

Canada Face UAE at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday (09:30). They will then meet New Zealand at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Tuesday (05:30).

South Africa ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Squad

Eider Markram (), Damon Brewis, Quinton Brewis, Quinton to the Jande, George Linda, Bangsav Maya, Kushav Maharaj Kowna, Milder, Miller, Riaing Ngj.

Canada ICC T20 World Cup 2026 Team

Dilpreet Bajwa (c), Ajayveer Hundal, Ansh Patel, Dilon Heyliger, Harsh Thaker, Jaskarandeep Singh, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Ravinderpal Singh, Saad Bin Zafar, Shivam Sharma, Shreyas Movva, Yuvraj Samra