A betting preview and tips for the 2026 T20 World Cup matches taking place on Thursday 26th February including West Indies v South Africa and India v Zimbabwe
THUMPING THURSDAY – Thursday 26 February
The big boys come out to play on Thursday. Will supporters of these teams be beating victory drums, proudly thumping of chests or banging their heads on walls should their team suffer a significant loss – we’re in for quite the bash on Thursday.
SOUTH AFRICA v WEST INDIES, Ahmedabad
Come Thursday evening there will be only one unbeaten team left in the tournament. The Proteas and Windies will meet head on, and the winner takes a significant step toward sealing a semi-final spot. Who will go bang, and who will go bust?
The big-hitting cool cats from the Caribbean already have the scalp of the Poms on their resume and given the size of the stick they used to beat the Zimbabweans with, a convincing victory over the Proteas pretty much guarantees them a playoff spot.
South Africa dished out a bit of retribution on India after cruising past the team who snuffed their torch in 2024. Markram’s men will be keen to capitalise on their current form and secure their spot in the semis with another loud performance against the Windies.
These teams know each other really well after their recent tune-up series, whilst the likes of Shai Hope and Akeal Hossain have been rubbing shoulders with South Africans for the past few months.
West Indies Top Batter – SE Rutherford @ 8.00 with Pokerbet
Rutherford is somewhat overshadowed by his bold top order in the form of Hope and Hetmyer. But I expect champagne from Sherfane against a strong South African attack. No one can keep the lefty quiet in his current form.
Top Bowler – G Motie @ 9.50 with Pokerbet
The leggy has collected 10 sticks at an average of 13.10. The South African shouldn’t be troubled by the likes of Holder and Joseph on a good batting deck but Motie could have them at a whimper instead of a roar.
Most Sixes – West Indies @ 1.90 Pokerbet
Fresh off pounding 250, the Islanders will be swinging big.
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INDIA v ZIMBABWE, Chennai
Afghanistan put 200 on Canada and USA piled on two big 190-plus scores at this venue. New Zealand also banged the scoring drum with vigour as they required little more than 15 overs to chase down 174 against Canada. India will be hoping to have their large home faithful in full voice with a strong batting performance against Zimbabwe – a performance that they will hope lifts their somewhat struggling top order to bigger and better things.
Whilst Zimbabwe played out of their skins in the Group stages, it seems the Super 8 phase might be a step too far for the other team from Southern Africa.
Zimbabwe Top Batter – Sikandar Raze @ 5.00 with Pokerbet
One gets the feeling that after Bennett it’s anyone’s game in the Zimbabwe batting ranks. Raza will be keen to show that his team deserve a seat at this table.
Player of the Match – Abhishek Sharma @ 7.50 with Pokerbet
Its been a woeful tournament for Abhishek but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he came out with a big score in Chennai. The Man of the Match market feels like one place you can still get a decent return.
Note, odds are subject to change