T20 World Cup: South Africa beat United Arab Emirates in the final group match

South Africa fine-tuned their preparations for the T20 Super 8s World Cup by registering a six-wicket win over United Arab Emirates in their final group match in Delhi.

Setting a target of 123 for the already eliminated United Arab Emirates, South Africa were bowled out with 40 balls to spare in a match in which the only thing that came close to threatening a Proteas win was the weather.

With qualification for the next stage already assured, South Africa made four changes – resting David Miller, Marco Janssen, Keshav Maharaj and Lungi Ngidi – and opted to field first after winning the toss.

UAE got off to a steady start in their innings through Aryansh Sharma (13) and skipper Mohammed Waseem (22), before Corbin Bush and George Linde scored twice to remove the openers.

Their hopes of building a competitive total were largely dependent on Alishan Sharafou, but with wickets falling around him the UAE’s innings faded.

With Charafou bowled five runs short of the second half-century of the tournament, the UAE mustered just 20 runs in the final four innings to finish on 122-6.

The covers came out during the innings break as rain delayed South Africa’s response but when they returned, the Proteas were given a fast start by skipper Aiden Markram, who smashed an 11-ball 28.

Ryan Rickleton and Dewald Previs then kept pace with 30 and 36 respectively as the 2024 finalists reached their target of 14th place.

The UAE’s only win in the tournament was over Canada, while South Africa had a perfect record in Group D with four wins from four matches.