4 min readNew DelhiFeb 18, 2026 05:37 PM IST South Africa had come into their final group encounter with a perfect record, and the UAE were never expected to stop them from maintaining that streak. And under overcast skies and a bit of unseasonal rain in the Capital, the Proteas prepared for their Super Eight encounter against favourites India with a six-wicket shellacking of the underdogs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Wednesday. The conditions for the morning game, and the pace and bounce in the South African attack – even though Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen were rested – was something the UAE team had rarely faced before. So, despite a decent start which took them to 36 for no loss after four overs, they could manage only 122/6 in their allotted 20 overs, a total that was overhauled in just 13.2 overs. “We have faced Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi, and other fast bowlers, especially at last year’s Asia Cup. But in the South African team, no pacer bowls slower than 140-145 …