South Africa v UAE: Valuable insights gained in T20 World Cup dead rubber
South Africa's Kwena Maphaka delivers a ball during the 2026 ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup group stage match between South Africa and United Arab Emirates at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on February 18, 2026. Picture: Arun SANKAR / AFP
Image: Arun SANKAR / AFP
Players and staff can get quite touchy when you mention a game is a dead rubber, even if it is, and with that in mind, there were actually a number of lessons the Proteas may have picked up in their T20 World Cup victory over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday.
With the clash taking place in Delhi, it was the first match the Proteas played away from Ahmedabad.
That means they had a taste of a new ground and its surroundings as they were lucky enough to avoid much travelling before this point.
It was also interesting to note that after Aiden Markram won the toss, he chose to bowl first.
Proteas Secure Victory Over UAE: Rabada and Maphaka’s Performance Analysis
Not batting first meant the Proteas were always likely to have a short game as UAE might not make much.
That was exactly the case as they could only manage 122. However, UAE did actually get off to a good start as they were up near 10 an over with their scoring rate inside the first four overs.
From there, the Proteas picked up wickets regularly as the UAE scoring rate plummeted.
Kagiso Rabada and Kwena Maphaka both went wicketless though as they returned identical figures of 0/30 from their four overs. It’s not really a concern for Rabada, as we saw how he bounced back from the Afghanistan game against New Zealand.
The 19-year-old Maphaka though, just looked out of sorts at times playing in his first World Cup game. This was especially evident in his first over which went for 10 runs and included three wides as he battled to find his line. He was also driven convincingly for four off the first legitimate ball he bowled by UAE opener Muhammad Waseem. This seems to speak volumes for Maphaka, and it just didn’t seem like he was ready for the occasion.
It’s unlikely he will play again at this World Cup unless there is an injury to one of the first-choice quicks.
On the batting side, there wasn’t too much to glean from chasing such a small score, and testament to this was that Jason Smith, playing his first game in the tournament, only faced five balls before his side eased to victory.
It’s back to Ahmedabad then for the Proteas, as they will have a couple of days to prepare for their Super Eights clash against hosts India on Sunday.