Quinton de Kock pulled out of the Super 12 match against holders West Indies after Cricket South Africa ordered its players to lend support to the anti-racism movement in Dubai.
Aiden Markram produced an unbeaten 51* off 26 deliveries, including two fours and an explosive four sixes in a pivotal third-wicket partnership with Rassie van der Dussen (43*) as the Proteas successfully chased down the target of 144 for victory with 10 balls to spare.
Quinton de Kock made himself unavailable for the game after the board on Monday unanimously agreed to issue a directive requiring all Proteas players to adopt a consistent and united stance against racism by 'taking the knee' prior to the start of their remaining World Cup matches.
The Proteas, who lost their tournament opener to Australia, have brought in Reeza Hendricks in place of De Kock who misses out due to 'personal reasons'.
The first game for the team to observe the gesture will be Tuesday's second game against the West Indies.
Chasing a daunting 191 for victory, Scotland were skittled out for 60 in 10.2 overs with five batters dismissed for ducks in Sharjah.
Chasing 152 for victory, Babar (68) and Rizwan (79) took apart the Indian bowling as they steered their team home with 13 balls to spare in Dubai.
World number 19 Namibia, the lowest-ranked side in the tournament, chased down their modest target of 126 with skipper Gerhard Erasmus making an unbeaten 53.
The South Africans have never won the tournament and they could not have asked for a tougher start than against the 2010 runners-up in a match to be played in Abu Dhabi - and Temba Bavuma admitted his side had "some butterflies".
India have beaten Pakistan in all of their 12 matches at the T20 and 50-over World Cups.
England's bowlers have opted for a decidedly low-tech approach to winning the T20 World Cup by training with a humble bucket to counter the crushing humidity of the Gulf.
The ICC T20 World Cup proper starts on 23 October when the Proteas take on Australia. Follow the Proteas' progress at the tournament with our fixture list.
Hasaranga, who smashed 71, and Pathum Nissanka, who made 61, put on a key stand of 123 to guide Sri Lanka to 171 for seven after being in trouble at 8-3 in the first round match in Abu Dhabi.
South African-born Campher took a hat-trick and then struck again to return figures of 4-26 and reduce the Dutch from 51-2 to 51-6, Ireland going on to dismiss them for 106 in the Group A opener in Abu Dhabi.
Chris Greaves' 28-ball 45 guided Scotland to 140-9 and he then took two key wickets with his leg spin to restrict Bangladesh to 134-7.
Postponed and moved twice because of the pandemic, the tournament's seventh edition kicks off on 17 October with Oman - joint hosts with the United Arab Emirates - taking on Papua New Guinea in a first qualifying round.
Pandemic strain has become increasingly apparent in recent months with England's Ben Stokes on a prolonged mental health break, and other leading players complaining about the pressures of going from bubble to bubble in different tours and tournaments.
Gayle left the team hotel because of 'bubble fatigue' accumulated over the months playing franchise and international cricket during the coronavirus pandemic, Kings said in a statement.
