04/03/2026

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | MAR 4, 2026 28 No place for complacency South Africa juggernaut faces knockout test against New Zealand S OUTH AFRICA have hardly put a foot wrong in their march to the Twenty20 World Cup semifinals, but complacency can have no place against a New Zealand Afghanistan, Aiden Markram’s side have not taken their foot off the pedal. Tim Seifert. All-rounder Rachin Ravindra’s ability to change gears sets a platform for Glenn Phillips and Daryl Mitchell to attack the back end.

Safety, wellbeing top priority for F1 chief ahead of Middle East races FORMULA ONE’S governing body, the FIA, has declared “safety and wellbeing” its top priority when considering upcoming races in the Middle East, amid escalating regional conflict. Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, scheduled to host F1 Grands Prix next month, have recently been hit by attacks. This instability follows joint strikes on Iran by the United States and Israel. The FIA’s concerns also extend to the World Endurance Championship, a leading sportscar series set to open its season in Qatar at the end of March. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, from Dubai, posted on Instagram yesterday:“We are in close contact with our member clubs, championship promoters, teams and col leagues on the ground as we monitor develop ments carefully and responsibly.” He continued: “Safety and wellbeing will guide our decisions as we assess the forthcom ing events scheduled there for the FIA World Endurance Championship and the FIA Formula One World Championship. Our organization is built on unity and shared purpose. That unity matters now more than ever.” Mohammed also stated the FIA is “deeply saddened by the loss of life and stand with the families and communities impacted”, hoping for “calm, safety and a swift return to stability.” F1 teams are currently heading to Melbourne for this week’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, having completed pre season testing in Bahrain last month. Britain’s Lando Norris will begin the defence of his title he won in thrilling fashion in a final race showdown with Max Verstappen last year, although Ferrari and Mercedes have both impressed in pre-season testing. Races in China and Japan are scheduled for later this month, before F1 head over to the Middle East next month. The Bahrain Grand Prix is currently due to take place on April 12 with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix pencilled in on the F1 calendar for the following week. The Middle Eastern races are significant con tributors to Formula One’s revenues through hosting fees worth many tens of millions of dol lars but Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar also have deep ties to the sport. Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund owns McLaren Racing while Abu Dhabi controls the sportscar com pany. Qatar has a significant investment in F1 newcomers Audi. Saudi energy giant Aramco is a global part ner of the sport and title sponsor of the Aston Martin team. – Reuters around the Ifema exhibition centre as host of the Spanish Grand Prix. The main feature will be the banked“Monumental”Turn 12. Italy had two grands prix last year but Imola has now dropped off a calendar that remains at 24 races. NEW SPRINT RACES The Canadian, Dutch and Singapore Grands Prix will become sprint weekends for the first time. Shanghai, Miami and Silverstone are the other three. The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, a home race for Verstappen, is due to drop off The Baku City Circuit, marking its 10th anniver sary, joins Las Vegas as a race held on Saturday. APPLE REPLACES ESPN AS S BROADCASTER Apple, makers of the hit F1 Movie, takes over from Walt Disney’s ESPN as the exclusive US broad caster of Formula One. Reuters the calendar after this year. ANOTHER SATURDAY RACE

In Quinton de Kock, Markram and Ryan Rickelton, they field a top order capable of banking a powerplay head-start, with an explo sive middle order offering little respite when the openers do not fire. South Africa complement it with a varied bowling attack. Kagiso Rabada’s hard, Test-match lengths and Marco Jansen’s left-arm bounce have cramped batters, while Lungi Ngidi’s change ups have been a revelation across phases. Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj provides control if conditions grip, with Markram hold ing himself back for match-ups. South Africa have looked ominous so far but the knockout stage brings its own challenge. Besides, New Zealand can be a tricky opponent. New Zealand opener Finn Allen’s ultra aggression is often the powerplay disruptor alongside a rotating partner – Devon Conway or

Their pace attack does not have a settled look though. The Black Caps are likely to miss the services of fast bowler Matt Henry, who is back home on paternity leave. Jacob Duffy or Kyle Jamieson could replace him. Their spin unit looks well covered however. Captain Mitchell Santner’s stump-to-stump tra jectory is a key match-up against de Kock and Markram, and Ish Sodhi’s leg-spin could trou ble South Africa’s right-hand middle. “We faced them in Ahmedabad, which I think is a venue that they’ve grown pretty used to given that they’ve spent a fair bit of time there,” New Zealand’s head coach Rob Walter said. “The semifinals will be in a different venue. It will provide a different challenge.” – Reuters

side famed for punching above their weight when the teams meet at Eden Gardens today. The Proteas are the tournament’s only unbeaten side and look a far more rounded T20 unit than the one that fell at the last hurdle in 2024. They beat New Zealand in the group stage and have earned the favourites’ tag that rested with defending champions India before the start of the tournament. India face England in the other semifinal tomorrow. “I’m glad that we’re favourites, because I’ve always felt that as a South African team you want to be able to play as a favourite,” head coach Shukri Conrad said, suggesting they were enjoying the spotlight. Since surviving a double Super Over against

‘Superman Sanju’ toast of India WC heroics

INDIA on Monday hailed Sanju Samson (caricature) as a “game changer” after the opener’s batting masterclass in Kolkata took the defending champions into the T20 World Cup semifinals. Samson’s unbeaten 97 led India’s chase of 196 against the West Indies in the last Super Eights match to set up a semifinal against England in Mumbai tomorrow. Samson paced his innings to per fection and had more than a billion India fans erupting in joy on Sunday night when he hit Romario Shepherd for a six and four to com plete the chase at Eden Gardens. “Handling the final overs well in both innings gave us the edge,” India’s batting great Sachin Tendulkar wrote on X . “Sanju Samson’s calm presence at the crease was wonderful to watch. That kind of presence lifts a side. Brilliant effort from everyone. On to the semifinals!” Former India batsman Mohammad Kaif said: “Sanju Samson the man for India in a do-or die game. Focus is never on him but he proves to be the game-changer.”

The 31-year-old Samson has been in and out of the Indian team and played just one group match against Namibia in the absence of opener Abhishek Sharma. India brought back Samson in their Super Eights match against Zimbabwe to break up the all left handed opening partnership of Abhishek and Ishan Kishan. India’s media were lavish in their praise for Samson, who saved India from a humiliating early tournament exit on home soil. Superman Sanju rescues India , blazed the Times of India . India coach Gautam Gambhir called Samson “world-class”. “We all know how good a player Sanju is and it was all about backing him,” Gambhir told reporters. “Today was a day where he probably showed his true potential.” Samson, who made his debut in 2015, has played just 60 Twenty20 matches for India since. “I always say, good things hap pen to good people who wait, who have a lot of patience,”said India cap tain Suryakumar Yadav. “It’s all his hard work.” – AFP

What’s changed as Formula One enters a new era

THE 2026 Formula One season fires up in Melbourne this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix. The following looks at what has changed in a new era for the sport: NEW CHAMPION McLaren’s world champion Lando Norris has the No. 1 on his car for the first time after taking the 2025 title and ending Max Verstappen’s run of The engine and chassis regulations have had their biggest overhaul in decades. Cars are smaller, shorter, lighter, with a roughly 50-50 split between electric power and combustion engine as well as running on 100% advanced sustainable fuel. The Pirelli tyres are also nar rower. NO MORE DRS The old drag reduction system (DRS) has gone, replaced by active aerodynamics – adjustable front and rear wings and new driver-operated overtake mode and boost button. four in a row with Red Bull. NEW CARS, NEW ENGINES

RED BULL DEBUT AS POWER UNIT MAKER Former champions Red Bull are making their own engine for the first time and supplying sister team Racing Bulls as well. Their former engine partner Honda now has an exclusive deal with Aston Martin. ONLY ONE ROOKIE Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad, a Briton of parental Swedish and Indian heritage, is the only rookie. The 18-year-old becomes the youngest British F1 driver, a record taken from Oliver Bearman who was 18 when he debuted for Ferrari in 2024. Lindblad is also the fourth youngest Formula One driver of all time after Verstappen, Lance Stroll and Kimi Antonelli. CADILLAC THE ALL-NEW TEAM General Motors-backed Cadillac become the 11th team on the grid and the first all-new out fit since fellow US-owned entrants Haas in 2016. Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas, who have both driven for multiple teams and boast six and 10 wins respectively, return after a year’s absence as the highly experienced

lineup at the Ferrari-powered team. QUALIFYING CHANGE

The arrival of Cadillac means a tweak to qualify ing, with six cars now eliminated after the first and second phases instead of the previous five. SAUBER HAVE BECOME AUDI Swiss-based Sauber have become the Audi fac tory team, with the same management and drivers (Germany’s Nico Hulkenberg and Brazil’s Gabriel Bortoleto) as last year but now powered by Audi’s own engine. Sauber fin ished ninth overall last year, with Hulkenberg taking a surprise third place in Britain. NO MORE RENAULT ENGINES Renault-owned Alpine have switched to Mercedes power and Renault’s long and illustri ous history as an engine manufacturer has come to an end. MADRID THE NEW RACE, NO IMOLA Spain will have two races, with a street circuit in Madrid – the Madring – making its debut