South Africa’s Kagiso Rabada, center, celebrates with his teammates (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
Former England captain Michael Vaughan sparked controversy after the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup by suggesting that the South Africa national cricket team made a tactical error in beating the West Indies cricket team in a Super 8 match.The match, played at the Narendra Modi Stadium, ended in a comfortable nine-wicket win for South Africa. The result had a major impact on the tournament equation as it allowed the Indian cricket team to remain in contention for the semi-finals. Later in the day, India beat the Zimbabwe national cricket team to keep their campaign going.
Gautam Gambhir talks about India’s World Cup win and Sanju Samson’s support in the tournament
Speaking on Stick to Cricket, Vaughan suggested that South Africa may have inadvertently helped India stay in the race by winning that particular match.
“I’m telling you, who do I think is the dumbest team in the tournament? South Africa. Because if South Africa had allowed West Indies to beat them in the Super 8, India would have been out of the tournament. I’m just saying – if they had taken them out, the next juggernaut would have been stopped.”“By winning that match, they allowed the juggernaut to continue. Then India beat Zimbabwe, then West Indies in the quarter-final, then England.
“South Africa had to play Zimbabwe next and they rested three players for that match,” Vaughan said on the Stick to Cricket podcast.According to Vaughan, teams seeking to win the World Cup sometimes benefit from eliminating the strongest team early in the competition rather than allowing them to gather momentum.Vaughan added: “Look, these things shouldn’t happen and usually don’t happen. I’m just saying that if you want to win the World Cup, the best way is to eliminate the best team early.”After their win over Zimbabwe, India’s next match against the West Indies effectively turned into a knockout match. In this high-pressure game,
Sanju Samson
He produced an unbeaten match-winning 97 to guide India to a five-wicket win and secure a place in the semi-finals while bringing an end to the West Indies’ campaign.Meanwhile, South Africa traveled to Kolkata for the first semi-final, where they faced the New Zealand national cricket team. Led by Mitchell Santner, the Black Caps dominated the contest and cruised to a nine-wicket win. The highlight of the chase was a sensational 33-ball century from Finn Allen, which helped New Zealand qualify for the final. India eventually won the 2026 T20 World Cup.
