Unbeaten South Africa national cricket team will take on the West Indies cricket team today (Thursday) in a high-stakes Super Eight match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

The encounter, scheduled to begin at 2:30pm in Ahmedabad, India, carries significant semi-final implications for both sides.

Semi-Final Race Intensifies

The West Indies head into the contest brimming with confidence after a commanding 107-run victory over Zimbabwe earlier this week.

However, with a crucial final Super Eight fixture against India on Sunday, the Caribbean side must secure a win today to strengthen their chances of advancing.

South Africa, meanwhile, are in a strong position. A victory in this match would virtually seal their place in the semi-finals, barring an unlikely sequence of results in the group.

The Proteas are coming off an impressive win over India, where their middle-order batsmen delivered under pressure to post a competitive total.

Fireworks Expected

Both teams have displayed an aggressive brand of cricket throughout the tournament, making today’s clash one of the most anticipated matches of the Super Eight stage.

With power-hitters on both sides and high stakes attached, fans can expect a thrilling contest as the race for the semi-finals gathers pace.

PROVO, Utah — Themus Fulks had 24 points and 11 assists, Jordan Burks also scored a career-high 24 and UCF shot 14-of-24 from 3-point range to run away from No. 19 BYU for a 97-84 upset Tuesday night.

Jamichael Stillwell added 12 points, 12 rebounds and six assists as the Knights (20-7, 9-6 Big 12) earned their first victory over the Cougars by outscoring them 44-34 in the paint and shooting 56% from the field — including 58% on 3s.

UCF’s 13-point margin of victory was its largest on the road over an AP-ranked team in program history, and third-largest in any game vs. an AP-ranked team.

AJ Dybantsa led BYU with 29 points and eight rebounds, his 21st game scoring at least 20 points, most among Division I freshmen this season. Robert Wright III had 20 points on 7-of-21 shooting, and Aleksej Kostic scored 14 off the bench. The Cougars (20-8, 8-7) shot 41% from the floor and trailed the entire way.

UCF got off to a blistering start on offense and didn’t let up. The Knights went 11-of-16 from 3-point territory and shot 57% from the field overall before halftime.

Burks drained three corner 3s over four possessions to cap an 18-4 run that put UCF ahead 23-8. Four of the Knights’ first nine field goals were transition baskets, including two of Burks’ long-distance buckets, and they started 9-of-11 from the floor overall.

It didn’t get much better for BYU as the first half progressed. UCF outscored the Cougars 25-10 over the final 9:21 of the period to go up 52-28 at halftime. Fulks made four baskets over a three-minute stretch to cap the surge, helping the Knights set a season high for points in a half.

Fulks became the fifth different player in Big 12 history to have 20 points and 10 assists in a win over an AP-ranked opponent.

UCF opened the second with a 12-0 spurt powered by three straight baskets from John Bol to take its largest lead at 64-28.

The Knights’ 97 points were their most in a game against an AP-ranked team in program history. They improved to 3-3 against ranked teams this season.

ESPN Research and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The SEC has fined Kentucky coach Mark Pope $25,000 for his “post-game conduct and comments” following his team’s 75-74 loss at Auburn on Saturday, the league announced.

Auburn won the game on Elyjah Freeman‘s tip-in with 1.1 seconds to go. That play followed a controversial offensive foul call against Collin Chandler that set up Auburn’s game winner.

“Mitch, if those mother F’ers try to fine me, screw ’em because I did not say a word about how they cheated us,” Pope said to Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart as he left the postgame podium.

The league said Pope violated SEC rules after the game.

“University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach Mark Pope has been issued a public reprimand and fined $25,000 by the Southeastern Conference for post-game conduct and comments related to officiating following the Wildcats’ game at Auburn University on February 21,” the SEC said in its statement on Tuesday. “The comments violated SEC Bylaw 10.5.3 (Sportsmanship) and the SEC Commissioner’s Regulation regarding Public Criticism of Officials, which prohibit coaches, student-athletes and institutional staff from publicly criticizing officials or disclosing officiating-related communications.”

Saturday’s game was the third consecutive loss for Kentucky, which reportedly spent more than $20 million on its current roster, and the team’s fourth loss in seven games just weeks before Selection Sunday. Late in Saturday’s game, Chandler was whistled for pushing off an Auburn player on the inbounds with nearly 14 seconds to go in the game. On the next possession, Auburn sealed the win on Freeman’s putback.

After the game, Pope said his team had to stay focused even if things were “personal.”

“We refuse to give control to people that are outside of our program. Refuse,” Pope said after the loss. “Regardless of how personal it might get or how bad it might get, we refuse to give control to fans, to give control to anybody else associated with this game. Regardless of how blatantly people are trying to make this not happen, we refuse to give them our power. … We don’t make excuses. We don’t do that. Regardless of what is happening. Regardless of how disgraceful things are, we don’t give away our power. Regardless of how embarrassing, personal, awful, unacceptable things are, we refuse to give away our power.”