International Cricket

T20 WC 2026 Group C Day-by-Day Fixtures Broadcast Decoded

Rohan Bhatia 19 May 2026 Updated 19 May 2026 ~5 min read ~998 words

T20 WC 2026 Group C fixtures day-by-day decoded

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Group C at the T20 WC 2026 contains South Africa, Afghanistan, West Indies, Netherlands and Canada, with the five-team format running across nine days from February 14 through February 23. The Group C fixtures are split across three western Indian venues: the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. With South Africa entering the WC as a top-three T20I side, Afghanistan now a settled top-eight contender, and the West Indies looking to reset under their new tactical leadership, Group C is the most-balanced of the four groups. This decode walks through each fixture day-by-day with the broadcast windows.

Days 1-4, Group C opens

The group opens February 14 with South Africa vs Canada at the Narendra Modi Stadium, kick-off 14:00 IST in the day-game slot. February 15: Afghanistan vs Netherlands at the Wankhede Stadium, kick-off 19:30 IST in the marquee floodlit slot. February 16: West Indies vs Canada at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, kick-off 14:00 IST. February 17 is a Group C rest day, with focus shifting to the India vs Pakistan fixture in Group A. February 18: South Africa vs West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium, kick-off 19:30 IST under floodlights, with Aiden Markram against Roston Chase as the captaincy match-up. The pitch panel at Narendra Modi has been retained at a higher-scoring spec for the SA-WI fixture, with first-innings target totals of 195-210.

Days 5-8, mid-group fixtures

February 19 brings Afghanistan vs Canada at the Wankhede Stadium, kick-off 14:00 IST. February 20: South Africa vs Netherlands at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, kick-off 19:30 IST, the rematch of the 2023 ODI WC fixture that Netherlands won. February 21: West Indies vs Afghanistan at the Wankhede Stadium, kick-off 19:30 IST in the marquee fixture, with Rashid Khan against the West Indies top order as the central tactical battle. February 22 is the second Group C rest day. February 23 closes the mid-group block with Netherlands vs Canada at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, kick-off 14:00 IST. The Mumbai-Pune-Ahmedabad rotation is the most travel-intensive of the four groups.

Final group day and Super Eight qualification

The final Group C day, February 24, has two fixtures: South Africa vs Afghanistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium, kick-off 14:00 IST, and West Indies vs Netherlands at the Wankhede Stadium, kick-off 19:30 IST. The day decides the four Group C Super Eight qualifiers. With five sides in the group, only one is eliminated. Canada is the likely casualty, with Netherlands holding an outside chance to top one of the marquee sides on net run-rate. The seeding maths is tight: South Africa is locked in as group winner in most scenarios, but Afghanistan, West Indies and the fourth-seed slot are competing for favourable Super Eight grouping. The final-day showdown at Ahmedabad between South Africa and Afghanistan is the most-anticipated Group C fixture, with Rashid Khan's spin against the South African middle order as the central tactical question.

Broadcast routing and venue rotation

Broadcast routing covers Star Sports for India, JioHotstar streaming, SuperSport for South Africa, ATN Bangla for Bangladesh-tier coverage, ESPN Caribbean for West Indies, NPO Sport for Netherlands, ICC.tv globally for Canada and Afghanistan. The venue rotation is built around the ICC's pitch-rotation rules: Narendra Modi Stadium uses six pitches across the tournament, the Wankhede uses five, and the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium uses four. Wankhede's pitch panel under curator Ramesh Mhamunkar has confirmed harder, faster decks for the Afghanistan-Netherlands and Afghanistan-West Indies fixtures, with first-innings target totals of 180-195. Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium plays slower, with target totals of 160-175.

What it means

Group C is the most-balanced group of T20 WC 2026, with three top-eight T20I sides and two associate qualifiers. South Africa enters as favourites, but Afghanistan is the dark horse, and the West Indies' new tactical leadership is the wild card. The marquee fixture is the February 24 closer at the Narendra Modi Stadium between South Africa and Afghanistan, that fixture often decides both the group winner and the Super Eight seeding route. Watch how Netherlands handles the Afghanistan spin attack at the Wankhede on February 15, the opener is the early tell on whether Netherlands has fixed the leg-spin weakness that has historically held it back.