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New Zealand vs South Africa T20 Cricket World Cup Predictions - Rickelton to hand Kiwis their first World Cup loss

Simon Lewis

Editor

Last updated: 13 Feb 2026

Simon Lewis 13 Feb 2026

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Ryan Rickelton hit four sixes in his 28-ball 61 against Afghanistan.
Tim Seifert has scored 62, 66, 65 & 89* runs in his last five innings.
Can South Africa remain unbeaten in the World Cup by beating in-form New Zealand?

Expired

Ryan Rickelton pulls against the West Indies (Getty Images).

New Zealand vs South Africa Predictions

New Zealand and South Africa are both in fine form, having won their opening two matches. The New Zealand top-order is powerful, but South Africa bat deeper, so I am backing the Proteas to pull through in what should a thrilling contest.

New Zealand vs South Africa Predictions
Head-to-Head
New Zealand Form
South Africa Form
New Zealand vs South Africa Team News & Squads

South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton has scored 77*, 44, 33 & 61 in his last 5 innings.
South Africa’s Quinton de Kock has scored 115, 28, 25 & 59 in his last 4 innings.
New Zealand’s Tim Seifert hit 15 boundaries in his 42-ball 89* against the UAE.
New Zealand’s Finn Allen hit five sixes in his 50-ball 84* against the UAE.

Head-to-Head

New Zealand have won four of their last five T20Is against South Africa, including the last three in a row.

New Zealand Form

After beating Afghanistan by five wickets in their opening match of the tournament, New Zealand produced a master-class to demolish the UAE by 10 wickets.

New Zealand fought back after the UAE’s second-wicket partnership took them to 119/2 at the start of the 15th over. Mitchell Santner (1/23, econ 5.75) bowled an incredibly tight spell, while Matt Henry kept things tight at the top and tail of the innings, returning figures of 2/37 (econ 9.25).

Tim Seifert (89* off 42 balls,12 fours, three sixes) and Finn Allen (84* off 50 balls, five fours, five sixes) butchered the UAE attack. The pair shared an undefeated opening stand of 175 to take the Kiwis to a 10-wicket win off just 15.2 overs.

South Africa Form

South Africa followed up their opening victory over Canada by beating Afghanistan in a dramatic 2nd Super Over.

Quinton de Kock (59 off 41) and Ryan Rickelton (61 off 28) peppered the boundary in a 114-run stand for the second wicket. Dewald Brevis (23* off 19) and David Miller (20* off 15) struggled to get the Afghanistan attack away in the closing overs, but the Proteas would have been happy with their total of 187/6 off their 20 overs.

The Proteas had Afghanistan in trouble at 52/3 but they recovered to get their chase back on track. They lost their last wicket with the scores level which pushed the match into a Super Over. Lungi Ngidi (3/26, econ 6.50) was the star of the innings, picking up half of Afghanistan’s top six batters. Keshav Maharaj (1/27, econ 6.75) also delivered a tight spell of bowling.

Afghanistan scored 17/0 off the first Super Over, with the Proteas matching them with two boundaries off the last two balls by Tristan Stubbs.

Stubbs and Miller hit three sixes in the 2nd Super over to post an imposing 23/0 off their six balls. Maharaj picked up the wicket of Nabi off the second ball, only for Rahmanullah Gurbaz to hit three sixes in a row before being caught at point off the last ball as the Proteas sealed a thrilling win.

New Zealand vs South Africa Team News & Squads

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner expressed his delight with his side’s comprehensive win over the UAE during the post-match interview.

“Credit to the UAE, they batted very well, sussed out the conditions well. But we also batted well. Once we understood the conditions, the bowlers did well. The death phase from the seamers was great. It was a better wicket than the other day,” said Santner.

Lungi Ngidi was named Player of the Match and admitted that it had been a nerve-wracking when he chatted to the TV presenters after the match.

“I lost so much weight today - I have never been this stressed in my life in a cricket game! Happy to come out on top. I knew I'd probably be the Super Over option, and the captain said I should just keep doing the same,” said Ngidi.

“I let myself down in the first over, which didn't go to plan. It was clear from watching Quinton, David and Tristan that balls into the wicket were working," added Ngidi.

New Zealand (possible XI): Tim Seifert, Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (c), James Neesham, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy.

South Africa (possible XI): Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock, Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi.

Verdict

New Zealand v South Africa

I am backing South Africa to win. I am also backing Ryan Rickelton to top score for South Africa.

Tim Seifert is a good bet to top score for New Zealand.

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