New Zealand defeated South Africa by nine wickets to storm into the T20 World Cup 2026 final. Chasing 170 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, the Kiwis made it look one-sided as openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen unleashed a brutal assault. The duo powered New Zealand to 84 runs in the powerplay, tearing apart a Proteas attack that had been in superb form leading up to the semi-final. Relentless and fearless, the Kiwi openers ensured none of South Africaโs plans worked on the night, sealing a dominant victory.
Notably, Allen smacked a 19-ball half-century, which is the joint-fastest alongside Shimron Hetmyer in the ongoing tournament. Also, this marked the first instance when the Aiden Markram-led side had a 100-run stand against them this season. They also defeated the BlackCaps quite convincingly earlier in the tournament, which must have given South Africa some sort of confidence but having lost two back-to-back wickets in just the second over of the game, put the team on the backfoot.
Off-spinner Cole McConchie set the tone for New Zealand as the Proteasโ strategy made little sense. Despite losing two early wickets, the team didnโt change their approach, which could be called brave but ended up being a disaster. The pitch had something to offer to the bowlers early on and South Africa failed to read that. Their attacking approach came back to bite them as the team lost wickets at regular intervals.
In the final overs, Marco Jansen proved rock solid with the bat, smacking unbeaten 55 runs off 30 balls. Tristan Stubbs supported him well for a while, but his strike rate was a concern, having scored 29 runs off 24 balls.ย
Allen smacks fastest century in T20 World Cup history
Chasing 170, New Zealand were slightly lucky in the initial overs as multiple edges fell just short of the fielders. However, once Allen and Seifert got settled, it was all fireworks. Seifert eventually departed for 58 runs off 33 balls, while Allen ended up being unbeaten for 100 runs off just 33 balls to win the game and take New Zealand to their second T20 World Cup semi-final. It is also the fastest century in T20 World Cup history as he broke Chris Gayle’s record.
Now, New Zealand will face the winner of India vs England in the summit clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Also Read: