T20 World Cup 2025/26, NZ vs SA 1st Semi-Final Match Report, March 04, 2026

New Zealand 173 for 1 (Allen 100*, Seifert 58, Ravindra 13*, Rabada 1-28) beat South Africa 169 for 8 (Jansen 55*, Brevis 34, McConchie 2-9, Ravindra 2-29) by nine wickets

On Saturday, New Zealand had nervously tuned into Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, wondering if they could sneak into the semi-final. Matt Henry was on the way back home from Colombo for the birth of his second child. New Zealand’s build-up to the semi-final was just as uncertain as they waited anxiously for their bowling spearhead to return. On Wednesday, their performance in the semi-final was anything but uncertain as they KO’d South Africa, who were unbeaten until this game, and launched New Zealand into their second men’s T20 World Cup final.

After their attack welcomed Henry back and limited South Africa to 169 for 8 on a slower-than-usual Eden Gardens track, Finn Allen took centerstage and crashed a 33-ball century, the fastest ever in a men’s T20 World Cup, to make a mockery of the chase. Just as Allen was soaking in his century, Tim Seifert, the other half of New Zealand’s Bash Brothers, pumped his fist in the dugout. New Zealand completed the demolition job with nine wickets and just more than seven overs to spare.

McConchie goes bang bang

Mitchell Santner handed the new ball to offspin-bowling allrounder Cole McConchie in the second over, and he aced his match-up, taking out the left-handed pair of Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton in the only over he bowled.

De Kock threw the first punch at McConchie when he swiped him over mid-on for four. McConchie then punched back next ball by darting one into the pitch and having de Kock pop a catch to mid-on for 10 off eight balls. It was the third time in five innings that de Kock was dismissed by an offspinner in this competition.

Rickelton, at No.3, had a crack at an offbreak next ball and ended up slicing a cut to short third for a golden duck. Brevis then avoided the hat-trick, but McConchie, the 18th player included in New Zealand’s T20 World Cup squad, had done his job.

Santner, Ravindra tighten the screws

With the two left-handers gone and the powerplay done, Santner introduced himself into the attack and conceded just three runs off the seventh over. The New Zealand captain helped offset the damage caused by a 17-run powerplay over from Jimmy Neesham, who had replaced legspinner Ish Sodhi.

Rachin Ravindra then struck in his first over, tossing up one at Aiden Markram’s stumps and having him caught at long-on for 18 off 20 balls. Daryl Mitchell charged in from long-on, dived forward and plucked it inches from the ground. Replays suggested it was touch-and-go, but Nitin Menon, the TV umpire, eventually ruled it as a clean catch.

After dropping Markram on 3 at midwicket, Ravindra enjoyed redemption with the ball.

Against the left-handed David Miller, Ravindra hiked his pace and aimed to hide the ball away from his swinging arc. Ravindra could have had Miller on 3 but Glenn Phillips, believe it or not, dropped a catch in the outfield. Miller added three to his tally before chipping Ravindra to Mitchell at long-off for a regulation catch. Ravindra finished with 2 for 29 in his four overs, extending his own tournament tally to 11. Among spinners, only Varun Chakravarthy, the No.1-ranked T20I bowler, has more wickets than him in this T20 World Cup.

Dewald Brevis flickered briefly for 34 off 27 balls before he was undone by the slowness of the Eden pitch. He jabbed at a drive early and ended up spooning Neesham to Santner at cover. South Africa were 77 for 5 at that point.

Jansen rescues SA

Marco Jansen then combined with Tristan Stubbs for a 73-run partnership for the sixth wicket – a new record for South Africa in men’s T20Is. Despite the clatter of wickets, Jansen showed his power and composure. After charging at Ravindra, his former team-mate at Washington Freedom in the MLC, and lofting him for six, Jansen lined Henry up for a no-look six over wide long-on.

He reached his half-century off 27 balls, with a six off Neesham, and finished with his T20I career best of 55 off 30 balls, including two fours and five sixes. Lockie Ferguson snapped the stand in the 19th over when he castled Stubbs for 29 off 24 balls with a nifty legcutter from around the wicket. Henry then closed out the innings with a six-run over, which also included the wickets of Corbin Bosch and Kagiso Rabada. Jansen’s half-century, though, gave South Africa’s attack something to bowl at.

Finn-tastic Allen wins KKR bat-off

That something soon turned into next to nothing once Allen took off in the chase as the dew set in at Eden Gardens. Allen faced 33 balls and sent 18 of those to or over the boundary. Rabada tried his legcutter, Lungi Ngidi dipped into his slower dipper, Jansen tried to bang it away on a hard length and Bosch offered pace, but nothing worked against Allen.

After reaching his fifty off 19 balls, Allen stormed to his ton off 33 balls. It was Seifert who had made the early running, contributing 41 of the 62 New Zealand had scored in the first five overs of their chase. In the final over of the powerplay, Allen carted Bosch for a sequence of 6,4,4,4,4 as New Zealand finished with 84 for 0. It was the second-highest powerplay score in this T20 World Cup and the highest powerplay score across all knockout games in the T20 World Cup.

From thereon, it was all about Allen and his brute power. If this was a bat-off for an IPL opening spot at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Allen won it emphatically. South Africa found some respite when Rabada removed Seifert for 58, but Allen finished it off in grand style at Eden Gardens, in the company of Ravindra, another Knight Rider.

Deivarayan Muthu is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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