South Africa vs New Zealand, 1st Semi-Final, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 - Commentary

New Zealand had never beaten South Africa in T20 World Cups. 0-5 it was before today. What a time to change that. On the night of the semifinal, and against a team that was unbeaten right through the tournament. South Africa were so good and so many of their players made such a mark over the last few weeks. Ngidi with his brilliant slower balls, Stubbs and Miller with their powerhitting, Markram dazzling at the top, and Jansen with his allround game. But they also got favourable conditions in Ahmedabad where they played most of their matches. Today, on a stoppy pitch (in the first innings) with some low bounce, they came undone in spectacular fashion. Things only got worse with the ball as they were beaten to a pulp by Allen's blistering hundred. Makes you wonder how much conditions changed given how dramatically they were outplayed. So another World Cup dream shattered for the Proteas. New Zealand, meanwhile, can dare to dream. They will have a shot at their maiden title on Sunday. Tomorrow we'll find out whether they face India or England. That's all for now. It's a goodbye from Sagar Chawla on behalf of Mukesh, Raju Peethala and MS Ramakrishnan.

Mitchell Santner | NZ skipper: "It was nice. I think we knew obviously how good South Africa are, and they’ve shown that throughout the tournament. So, to put on a performance like that in a crunch game is obviously pretty pleasing. I guess every time, you get shown up or you lose a game, you’re learning from it. I guess you learn when you win as well. So, we knew we weren’t, on or as good as we could have been during that game (in Ahmedabad), and they played unbelievably well, especially on a wicket like that. I guess today it (the lesson) was trying to keep them under pressure for a long time. We obviously threw a little bit more spin at the start, which we didn’t do at Ahmedabad. But I think, if you can take wickets throughout, it’s obviously a challenge to keep going with the bat. There was always a plan for the first two overs (talking about the bowling tactics) and then it’s kind of free fall after that. I think with, uh, obviously the right-handers coming out briefly, obviously, there’s a lot of spin. Um, so we, we thought maybe if the ball was spinning away a bit more, it might be a bit more of a challenge, but, you know, I think even when it’s up in the slot, kind of hits it and it stays hit. So, yeah, it was trying to, I guess, chop and change because the wicket was pretty good. Obviously a small ground, fast outfield. So I think, we were able to keep chipping wickets away through the middle and then, you know, Stubbsy (Stubbs) and Jansen obviously played a great, great knock to get them into 170. Yeah, it was. It was nice to watch (the chase). I’m not gonna lie. I guess we were very happy with the 170, but you never know, I think, like wickets in the power play, there’s always a challenge, and they (the openers) kind of just went out there and played their game and took it on, which was cool to see. And, I think, that opening partnership you get through a powerplay, no doubt, it puts you in a pretty good position. And then obviously, Finny (Allen) just carried on and, I mean, 33 balls for 100, it’s not bad. Not bad at all. It’d be nice if we could (repeat this in the final). But again, it’s a different ground. We’ve been there before, obviously. I think depending on where you are, it’s red soil, black soil. You know, so there’s a lot of different factors that go in, different sized grounds. So I think we’ll obviously be pretty happy tonight with the win. Then we’ve got a couple more days to, you know, really think about what happens next. But, yeah, it was a pretty good performance. I said before, we haven’t really played the perfect game. I know that’s always a hard or cliche thing, but, you know, we’ve been good in periods and then today I think we were pretty good all the way through.”

Aiden Markram | SA skipper: "I think you look at conditions early and they bowled really well up front. Ball didn't quite feel like coming on, some were just stopping on the wicket and some where hitting quite low on the bat and they made scoring really tough and through that pressure builds and you lose wickets unfortunately. So give credit to their bowling unit and obviously with the bat, someone plays an innings like that, don't think you will come out on the right side of the result many times as a fielding team. To get to 170 was a great effort to be fair. At the halfway point we really felt like we had a sniff, but then, as it goes in T20 cricket.. (in) the powerplay (they) got off to a flyer and can't protect every boundary unfortunately, and yeah they got away and then from there it was really hard to pull it back. So we give massive credit to Finn Allen's knock, Tim Seifert's knock to kill the game as early as they did, and yeah unfortunately, it was just that bad night for us tonight. (What they could have done differently tonight?) It's hard to say right now. We'll reflect as the group. I think we expected the wicket to play really well. It looked pretty good to the eye, so potentially just adapt a bit quicker with the bats and go back to maybe a bit more old school approach, set it up and try to scrape your way to 190, and maybe you'll be in the game from there. So yeah, we'll reflect as a group. Obviously disappointed with the result, but very proud of this group of guys who have played some really good cricket throughout this comp, and it's just an unfortunate evening really. (What do you say to the group having done so well and stumbled again) Yeah, I think you let the emotions settle first and foremost. Once they have, we'll have a discussion as a group and all you do is you break down the game and try and find the areas that could have been better. Get back on the horse and you try and improve as a group and as individuals, and hopefully that puts you in good stead for the future. So yeah, again, hugely disappointed. It's a big... not a slap in the face, but it feels like it. But because of that, ultimately, we will have to come out stronger and be better as a team moving forward."

Finn Allen | PoTM: (Is this the best you have ever put out?) Yeah, I’d say it’s pretty up there. Yeah, just wanted to get into good positions and put a good performance in for the team. (On the planning with his opening partner) Obviously, we wanted to start looking straight and obviously try and put them on the back foot early. I think it’s easy for me when Timmy’s (Seifert) going like that, I can kind of just watch and then hit it when it’s in my area and just try and give him the strike. So I think the way that he batted got us off to an absolute flyer. And yeah, I think like I said, we wanted to get strong positions, look straight and work the ball square off the length. (How do you keep the rhythm when you are getting as much strike) I think it’s easier in the semifinal to stay up for the fight. Obviously, huge game for us. And I think, with Timmy, we say, keep each other in it, whether we’re on strike or not, just keep ensuring that each other’s looking straight, looking to hit the ball hard. And yeah, we enjoyed out there together. (What changes do you make for different conditions) Yeah, I think you adapt to the wickets. I think training is really important to get a feel of what the wicket might play like. And when you’re coming here, black soil, there was that India series before this, which the boys played a lot on black soil. So good intel from that. And I think that shows how important that series was for us coming into this World Cup. (You are in a final! )Yeah, it was good (smiles). (How much do you celebrate and can you replicate?) Oh yeah, I think you take the positives from this game for sure, celebrate a little moment of success. And then, we’ve got a final to win on Sunday, so we just look forward to that..

Finn Allen’s innings featured just four dots tonight. There have been 76 individual innings of min. 30 balls in T20 WC semis or the finals till date. Of those, only Virat Kohli’s 72 off 44 against South Africa in the 2014 semis featured fewer dots (3).

Most sixes in a T20 World Cup edition
20 - Finn Allen (2026)
19 - Shimron Hetmyer (2026)
18 - Sahibzada Farhan (2026)
17 - Nicholas Pooran (2024)
16 - Chris Gayle (2012)
16 - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (2024)

8 sixes by Finn Allen is the most for NZ in a T20 WC innings; and the most for anyone in a T20 WC knockout.

18 - 10 fours and 8 sixes - Finn Allen now has the joint-highest boundary count in a T20 WC innings, alongside as many for Brendon McCullum (11 fours, 7 sixes) vs Bangladesh in Pallekele in 2012.

Most consecutive wins in Men’s T20 WC
12 - India (2024-2026)
8 - South Africa (2024)
8 - Australia (2022-2024)
7 - South Africa (2024) - streak ended today
7 - England (2010-2012)
7 - India (2012-2014)

Hundreds for NZ in T20 WCs
123 - Brendon McCullum vs BAN, Pallekele, 2012
104 - Glenn Phillips vs SL, Sydney, 2022
100* - Finn Allen vs SA, Kolkata, 2026

Highest scores in T20 WC knockouts
100* - Finn Allen vs SA, Kolkata, 2026 SF
96* - Tillakaratne Dilshan vs WI, The Oval, 2009 SF
89* - Virat Kohli vs WI, Mumbai WS, 2016 SF
86* - Alex Hales vs IND, Adelaide, 2022 SF
85* - Marlon Samuels vs ENG, Kolkata, 2016 Final
85 - Kane Williamson vs AUS, Dubai, 2021, Final

33 balls taken by Finn Allen to get to 100
- Fastest in T20WCs
- Fastest against a full-member side in T20Is
- Joint third fastest in all T20Is
- Joint fastest for a batter from FM teams, alongside Sikandar Raza vs Gambia, Nairobi (2024)

Fastest T20I hundreds (by balls taken)
27 - Sahil Chauhan (Estonia) v Cyprus, Episkopi, 2024
29 - Muhammad Fahad (Turkey) v Bulgaria, Sofia, 2025
33 - Finn Allen (NZ) vs SA, Kolkata, 2026
33 - Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (NAM) vs NEP, Kirtipur, 2024
33 - Sikandar Raza (ZIM) v Gambia, Nairobi, 2024

21:59 Local Time, 16:29 GMT, 21:59 IST: What just happened out there. New Zealand have made an absolute mockery of the target of 170, booking their ticket for the final on Sunday. Finn Allen with a beast of a knock on the big stage. 100 off just 33 balls, the fastest in Men's T20 World Cup history. South Africa looked so clueless right through those 13 overs or whatever it was. Just kept going with pace and more pace in the powerplay, and they kept disappearing as Seifert and Allen went about breaking the back of the chase with their whirlwind opening stand of 117. It was an excellent toss to win, no two ways about that. But the way New Zealand dominated the game, you've got to take your hat off. Apart from a couple of overs at the death in the first innings, everything they touched turned to gold. It also makes you wonder how much the conditions changed as the match went on, given how dramatically South Africa were outplayed.