Prediction: South Africa Favoured to Beat Canada in T20 World Cup Opener

Post by : Samiksha

In the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Group D fixture scheduled for Monday, Feb. 9 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, South Africa enter as clear favourites to beat Canada and kick off their tournament campaign with a strong performance.

Canada qualified for this edition of the T20 World Cup after a successful unbeaten run through the Americas Regional Qualifier, with several key players including captain Dilpreet Bajwa, Navneet Dhaliwal and Shreyas Movva expected to feature. This match will mark the first ever T20I meeting between South Africa and Canada in a major ICC event.

Most analysts predict South Africa to win comfortably due to their superior experience, squad strength and depth in both batting and bowling. The Proteas reached the final of the previous T20 World Cup and have a well-rounded team capable of dominating in subcontinental conditions, especially with a strong pace attack that could exploit early opportunities.

While Canada could make moments of impact if their players perform above expectations, expert models and prediction platforms have aligned on a South Africa victory, suggesting the Proteas should control proceedings across both innings.

The match begins at 7:00 PM IST with the coin toss around 6:30 PM IST, and fans can follow live broadcast and streaming coverage.

Feb. 9, 2026 5:38 p.m. 111

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