KOLKATA (Kashmir English): New Zealand has booked its place in the T20 World Cup 2026 final after crushing South Africa by nine wickets in the World Cup semi-final at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Set to chase 170, the Blackcaps comfortably struck the winning runs for the loss of just one wicket and 43 balls to spare, thanks to a record opening partnership between centurion Finn Allen and Tim Seifert.
Fin Allen scored an unbeaten century off 33 balls, which included 8 sixes and 10 fours. Tim Seifert was dismissed for 58 runs off 33 balls, and Rachan Ravindra was not out for 13 runs.
Kagiso Rabada took the only wicket for South Africa, Marco Jensen gave away 53 runs in 2.5 overs, and proved to be the most expensive bowler.
Batting first, South Africa set a target of 170 runs for New Zealand to win in the allotted 20 overs.
South Africa’s batting did not start well in the match, and important wickets fell early in the early overs, putting the team under pressure. Captain Aiden Markram was dismissed for 18 runs, while Quinton de Kock could only score 10 runs. Ryan Rickleton returned to the pavilion without scoring any runs.
In the middle overs, Dewald Brewers supported the team by playing a responsible innings of 34 runs, while Tristan Stubbs scored 29 runs. Later, Marco Jensan showed aggressive batting and strengthened the team’s total by scoring an unbeaten 55 runs off 30 balls, which included 5 sixes.
For New Zealand, Matt Henry, Cole McCunchy, and Rachan Ravindra took 2 wickets each, while Lockie Ferguson and James Neesham dismissed one player each.
