New Zealand vs South Africa LIVE Score, T20 World Cup 2026: Mitchell Santner’s Kiwis take on Aiden Markram’s Proteas in Ahmedabad; Toss, Playing XI updates

Both Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand and the previous edition’s finalist Aiden Markram’s South Africa are unbeaten in the tournament, having won their first two group games.  The Kiwis handed Afghanistan a five-wicket loss before demolishing the United Arab Emirates with a 10-wicket win, chasing down 174 in just 15.2 overs with all 10 wickets remaining. The 175-run opening stand between Finn Allen and Tim Siefert was also the highest partnership by any team for any wicket in the T20 World Cups.

The Proteas, on the other hand, were clinical against Canada before engaging in arguably one of the greatest T20 games against Afghanistan, where the contest saw two thrilling Super Overs in which the South Africans eventually came out as winners.

NZ vs SA T20 World Cup Squads

New Zealand: Tim Seifert (w), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy, Ish Sodhi, Kyle Jamieson, Devon Conway, Cole McConchie.

South Africa: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (w), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch, Jason Smith, Anrich Nortje, Kwena Maphaka.

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Cleared for takeoff: The many altitudes of Glenn Phillips

New Zealand cricketer Glenn Phillips in action during T20 World Cup 2026 match against Afghanistan. (PHOTO: AP)

When Glenn Phillips is not flying on the ground, swooping on an airborne leather ball with a sudden flow of energy, he will be soaring in the sky, saddled in a cockpit, manoeuvring an aircraft several feet off the ground, shouting aviation jargon.

Phillips’s dream was to get a pilot’s licence. “If I were a rich man and not playing cricket, I would have become a pilot,” he once revealed in an NZC podcast. He was on the verge of fulfilling his dream, first sparked when he flew to Melbourne as a nine-year-old in 2015. But the prescription drugs for the ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), a condition he had suffered from since childhood, were considered addictive substances. Hence, he was denied the dream on medical grounds. (READ FULL STORY BY SANDIP G)