South Africa cricket team edged Afghanistan cricket team in a nail-biting ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 clash on Wednesday, winning off the final ball of a second Super Over after the teams finished tied twice in a dramatic group match in Ahmedabad.
South Africa posted 187-6, powered by blazing half-centuries from Quinton de Kock (59) and Ryan Rickelton (61), who put on 114 to set the platform for what looked, at one stage, like a 200-plus total.
Afghanistan matched the target, finishing 187 all out, dragging the game into a Super Over. The tension only grew when the sides were tied again after the first one-over eliminator, forcing a rare second Super Over that South Africa sealed in a heart-thumping finish.
The match sent social media into overdrive, with fans calling it “insane”, “mad” and “incredible drama”, while many posts captured the heartbreak for Afghanistan after they forced the contest deep into sudden death.
“It’s the most insane cricket game I have seen… SA survive,” wrote a netizen, as Charles Watts described the contest as “mad” and packed with “incredible drama”.
An X user summed it up as “Some end to the match,” while another hailed Afghanistan’s fight, writing: “What a GAME!! HATS OFF AFGHANISTAN.”
Several users zeroed in on the emotional blow for Afghanistan, with fans calling it a “heartbreaking moment” for Afghanistan and adding that South Africa “finally managed to pull this off,” while another posted: “Agony for Afghanistan”.
Others argued Afghanistan would rue mistakes, with one X user claiming they “probably” lost the match, and potentially their Super 8 hopes, due to errors, while one X user insisted: “Lost but This Afghanistan team is AWESOME!”
One netizen used the match to champion the format, calling it a reminder that T20 cricket can produce edge-of-the-seat drama.
In another blunt reaction, a fan posted: “SA win. End of road for Afghanistan,” capturing the ruthless finality of a contest that had twice refused to end.
