AHMEDABAD: Canada has won the toss and chosen to field first against South Africa in the ninth match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday.
Toss and tactics
Leading Canada for the first time in a T20 international, captain Dilpreet Bajwa cited the potential for evening dew as the key factor in his decision. “We are very excited to be here,” Bajwa stated at the toss. “It feels like a good batting track, but because of the dew we choose to bowl first.”
Africa’s captain Aiden Markram, remained optimistic about batting first on a familiar surface. “Looks a good surface, hopefully we can get off to a good start and post a really big score,” Markram commented.
The Proteas selected a power-packed lineup, opting for the explosive Tristan Stubbs over batter Matthew Smith in the middle order and backing a four-pronged pace attack of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, and Corbin Bosch, with Keshav Maharaj providing the spin option.
Team lineups and form guide
South Africa enters the contest with a mixed recent record, having won two and lost three of their last five T20Is. Their campaign includes a 2-1 home series win over the West Indies last month, preceded by a 3-1 away series defeat to defending champions India in December.
In stark contrast, Canada is riding a wave of confidence on an unbeaten streak. The associate nation arrives fresh from a flawless performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Americas Region Final, a tournament they won to secure their spot in this 20-team global event.
South Africa Playing XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi.
Canada Playing XI: Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva, Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel.
