DELHI: South Africa won the toss and elected to field against the United Arab Emirates in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Group D match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday.
The decision reflects confidence in South Africa’s pace attack in Delhi, where captains have frequently preferred to chase, and also gives them a chance to apply early scoreboard pressure with the new ball.
South Africa, led by Aiden Markram, are targeting another win to strengthen their push towards the Super Eight stage. The UAE, captained by Muhammad Waseem, need a big performance to stay in contention and will look to post a competitive total after being put in.
Playing XIs
South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Jason Smith, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Kwena Maphaka.
UAE: Aryansh Sharma (wk), Muhammad Waseem (c), Alishan Sharafu, Sohaib Khan, Harshit Kaushik, Muhammad Arfan, Dhruv Parashar, Muhammad Farooq, Haider Ali, Junaid Siddique and Muhammad Jawadullah.
With South Africa opting to bowl, the UAE’s top order will be under immediate pressure to maximise the powerplay while keeping wickets in hand for a late surge.
