West Indies once had to struggle against the South African attack; However, lower-order batsmen Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder lit up the stage with some notable run-scoring during the quicker stages of the game.
In the Super-8 match of Group A, both West Indies and South Africa teams reached the Narendra Modi Stadium undefeated for the third group match. The winning team on this occasion will directly reach the semi-finals.
On the other hand, a losing team would pave the way for India to come into the competition, which wouldn’t be a great deal for any side, especially West Indies, whose final game is scheduled against the Men in Blue.
Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd revive West Indies’ innings with 89-run partnership
West Indies struggled with the bat, as wickets kept falling from the first half of the powerplay. After a stellar performance in the first two overs of the game, West Indies lost their two biggest wickets to Kagiso Rabada in the third over of the powerplay.
Furthermore, Lungi Ngidi also hit two fours in the next over and four in-form West Indies batsmen returned to the pavilion by the end of the powerplay. While Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell and Matthew Ford also failed to perform, West Indies needed a miracle to survive the scare.
After losing 7 wickets for 83 runs, West Indies have just covered half the journey and still have a long way to go. Shepherd arrived with a heavy bat and formed a breathtaking partnership with Jason Holder. Together they added 89 runs before Holder was out on the second to last ball of the 20th over of the innings.
Holder-Shepherd set new T20I batting record
Lean all-rounder Jason Holder had the best chance of his career to showcase all his experience. Despite playing some important, powerful innings in this competition, the role was somewhat new for Holder this time.
Along with Romario Shepherd, he played a balanced role, while Shepherd punched the seamers around the park whenever they missed their line or length. Holder finally found the pace against Marco Johnson in the 18th over of the game, where he scored 23 runs.
With Holder’s 49 and Shepherd’s 52*, the West Indies all-rounders scored 93 runs in the last nine overs and 89 of these runs came in the 8th wicket partnership between the two players. Due to this, the record of highest run partnership for the eighth wicket was broken.
Highest partnership for 8th wicket in T20I:
89 – Holder, Shepherd vs SA, 2026
80 – Momsen, Sharif vs. NED, 2015
75 – Amjad, Raul vs CAM, 2023
75 – Madande, Masakadza vs Ban, 2024
74 – Dockrell/Hand vs. AFG, 2022
History of Narendra Modi Stadium
– The biggest partnership for the eighth wicket so far in T20 World Cup history: Holder and Romario pic.twitter.com/C0GiT0zXdk
– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) 26 February 2026
Will West Indies be able to defend the target of 177 runs?
West Indies scored 176 runs, which seemed a bit low by the standards of the Narendra Modi Stadium. However, South Africa gracefully defended a similar score against India in the last game; Hence, the Windies would be keen to do so.
However, West Indies failed to tighten the screws early on and as a result, Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock gave South Africa a start which set the stage for a comfortable win for the Proteas. West Indies’ innings did not start well, especially as Markram remained unbeatable against their bowlers.
Also Read: Brandon King suffers serious injury during WI vs SA match in T20 World Cup 2026