South Africa hammers New Zealand by seven wickets at T20 World Cup. England beats Scotland

AHMEDABAD, India (AP) — Skipper Aiden Markram smacked 86 not out off 44 balls as South Africa beat New Zealand by seven wickets at the T20 World Cup on Saturday.

Markram’s innings included four sixes and eight fours and underlined a dominant performance by the Proteas, as they won with 2.5 overs to spare.

South Africa finished with 178-3 in reply to New Zealand’s 175-7 after left-arm pacer Marco Jansen picked 4-40 in four overs.

It was New Zealand’s first defeat in the tournament, while South Africa moved one step closer to the next round with three successive wins in Group D.

In Kolkata, England rebounded with a five-wicket win over Scotland thanks to Tom Banton’s 63 not out off 41 balls.

In the morning game at Colombo, Ireland thumped Oman by 96 runs to record its first win in three games at this T20 World Cup. Oman became the first team to be eliminated from the competition.

A crowd in excess of 50,000 – the highest for this World Cup – watched South Africa power its way to a win against the Black Caps with relative ease.

Put into bat, Jansen struck against the in-form top order. He had Tim Seifert caught behind for 13, while also accounting for Rachin Ravindra (13) and Finn Allen (31) in the space of four deliveries.

When Keshav Maharaj bowled Glenn Phillips for 1, New Zealand was down to 64-4 in 6.4 overs.

It recovered thanks to 74 off 44 balls between Daryl Mitchell and Mark Chapman, who top-scored with 48 off 26 balls. Mitchell scored 32 off 24 balls.

Jansen again provided the breakthrough as Chapman was out caught in the 14th over. New Zealand struggled to cross 180 thereafter, losing three wickets in 17 balls. James Neesham’s 23 not out gave it something to fight with.

But Markram set a hectic pace, smashing 50 off only 19 balls – the quickest for South Africa in tournament history.

It was also the third fastest T20 half-century against New Zealand as South Africa reached 100 in 44 balls.

The other top-order batters made useful contributions, as Makram changed gears to see his side home with plenty to spare. New Zealand is now five matches without a win against South Africa in T20 World Cups.

England, desperately needing the victory following an unconvincing four-run win over Nepal and a loss to the West Indies, made 155-5 in 18.2 overs after the Scots were bowled out for just 152 in Kolkata.

Scotland wasted an ideal platform after getting to 90-3 in 10 overs, with the batters falling to mistimed sweep shots against the spinners.

England’s top-order batters Phil Salt, Jos Buttler and captain Harry Brook fell for single digits, but Banton put on 66 with Jacob Bethell (32) and 46 with Sam Curran (28) to lift the team to second in Group C behind West Indies. It next plays Italy on Monday.

Banton and Bethell rescued England from 13-2 before Scotland hit back with two wickets in eight balls. Bethell slog swept and was caught at fine leg, while Brook top-edged for four.

Earlier, England hit back in the closing overs after Scotland had looked poised to set a challenging target when 113-3 midway through the 13th over.

The dismissal of captain Richie Berrington, who made 49, and Tom Bruce (24) in the space of four balls left Scotland struggling to accelerate late on.

Berrington and Bruce put on 71 in 41 deliveries before spinners Adil Rashid (3-36) and Liam Dawson (2-34) grabbed five wickets in four overs.

Fast bowler Archer, who was expensive against Nepal and West Indies, dismissed George Munsey and McMullen in a double-wicket second over.

In Colombo, Lorcan Tucker’s blistering unbeaten 94 off 51 balls earned Ireland its first win in the tournament as it crushed Oman in Group B.

Tucker, leading the side after Paul Stirling was ruled out of the World Cup due to a knee injury, powered Ireland to this tournament’s highest score of 235-5.

Gareth Delany hit 56 and George Dockrell smashed three sixes off the final three balls in a blazing 35 not out off nine deliveries.

In reply, Oman was bowled out for 139 in 18 overs after losing the last eight wickets for just 42 runs. Opener Aamir Kaleem (50) and Hammad Mirza (46) put on 73 for the third wicket, but the remaining lineup folded quickly. Fast bowler Josh Little grabbed 3-16.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

South Africa's captain Aiden Markram plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between South Africa and New Zealand in Ahmedabad , India, Saturday, Feb.14, 2026. (AP Photo/ Ajit Solanki)

South Africa's David Miller plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between South Africa and New Zealand in Ahmedabad , India, Saturday, Feb.14, 2026. (AP Photo/ Ajit Solanki)

Scotland's Mark Watt is bowled out by England's Adil Rashid during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and Scotland in Kolkata, India, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

England's Jofra Archer, left, celebrates with teammate Tom Banton the wicket of Scotland's George Munsey during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and Scotland in Kolkata, India, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

England's Tom Banton plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and Scotland in Kolkata, India, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

Ireland's Josh Little celebrates the wicket of Oman's Mohammad Nadeem during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Ireland and Oman in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Ireland's Gareth Delany, left, Lorcan Tucker, right, encourage each other as they bat during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Ireland and Oman in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Ireland's Lorcan Tucker plays a shot during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Ireland and Oman in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd was ejected after just one technical foul and forward Naji Marshall was tossed moments later from the bench after getting his second tech on Friday night in a game against Orlando.

The sequence came early in the fourth quarter against the Magic, with the Mavericks trailing by more than 20 points. Dallas entered the game on a 14-game home losing streak, its longest since the 1993-94 season.

Kidd got a technical along with rookie No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, who objected to a non-call on what he thought was a foul. Kidd appeared to be questioning the same non-call, and referee Sean Corbin called the technical.

Kidd had to be restrained by assistant coach Frank Vogel and ended up in an argument with Corbin, who directed an expletive at Kidd as he turned away from the coach.

Marshall was assessed his first technical at the end of the first half, with Desmond Bane making the free throw to start the third quarter. Marshall was on the bench when Bane made a layup just as referee Eric Lewis was blowing his whistle to give Marshall his second technical.

This story is corrected to show Sean Corbin directed an expletive toward Jason Kidd, not Eric Lewis.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero, bottom, loses his footing as he works against Dallas Mavericks' Naji Marshall (13) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, April 3, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd reacts during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Portland, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)