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Kagiso Rabada celebrates the wicket of Shai Hope in the South Africa-West Indies match.
| Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji
Prior to South Africa’s second Super Eight game against West Indies, Kagiso Rabada had just two wickets in the tournament and was a bit unlucky not to have more.
On Thursday (February 26, 2026), however, the pace spearhead turned the game on its head, doubling his tally in the space of four deliveries, taking the crucial wickets of Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer in his first over. His terrific spell (4-0-22-2) triggered West Indies’ top-order collapse and was instrumental in setting up a nine-wicket win for his side.
Reflecting on his performances, Rabada struck a philosophical note and insisted that the team’s unbeaten run mattered more.
“That’s just the game of cricket. (When you) think about it, you’re like, ‘how many times does it actually go for you? And how many times doesn’t it?’ More often than not, it goes for you. The most important thing is that we’ve been winning,” said the 30-year-old.
The pacer, though, could have etched his name in infamy after his no-ball in the final over against Afghanistan nearly cost his team the game. Thankfully, the Proteas prevailed in the second Super Over after both the regular game and the first Super Over were tied.
“I’m glad we won that game against Afghanistan. Otherwise, I would have blamed myself for sure,” he said. “On the positive side, I made it interesting, but if we had lost, I would have taken it quite heavily.”
With two wins in two, South Africa also booked a semifinal berth. On the team’s strong run, Rabada pointed out that the squad has benefited from key players being in good form.
“If you look at how everyone’s been going recently, you take confidence from their individual performances. The build-up was basically the SA20, and the key players were performing. That’s translating into this World Cup. So, it’s about doing more of the same and hoping things fall our way,” Rabada remarked.
Published – February 27, 2026 06:53 pm IST
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T20 World Cup | Most important thing is that we’ve been winning, says Rabada

