New Zealand national cricket team stormed into the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup after a dominant nine-wicket victory over South Africa national cricket team in the semi-final in Kolkata on Wednesday.
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South Africa, runners-up in 2024, entered the knockout clash unbeaten but were comprehensively outplayed as New Zealand chased down a target of 170 with 7.1 overs to spare.
New Zealand opener Finn Allen delivered a stunning performance, smashing the fastest century in T20 World Cup history off just 33 balls to guide his team to the final scheduled in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
South Africa’s head coach Shukri Conrad admitted his side had been thoroughly beaten. “I don’t know if tonight was a choke — I thought it was a bloody walloping,” he told reporters after the match.
Often labelled “chokers” for repeated failures in knockout stages of major tournaments, South Africa once again fell short on the big stage. Conrad described the defeat as a “proper snotklap,” a South African term meaning a heavy beating.
New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first, putting South Africa under immediate pressure. The Proteas struggled early and slumped to 77-5 before finishing on 169-8.
Allen and fellow opener Tim Seifert then dominated the chase, putting on 117 runs for the first wicket. Seifert scored 58 while Allen’s explosive innings sealed the match in style at Eden Gardens.
Allen finished the game with a flourish, hitting consecutive boundaries and sixes to reach his century and secure victory for New Zealand.
Conrad admitted his team had picked the wrong moment to have an off day. “We chose a really crappy time to have a bad night,” he said, though he insisted scheduling differences were no excuse for the defeat.
South Africa captain Aiden Markram said the team would reflect on the loss but remain proud of their overall performance in the tournament.
“We played some really good cricket throughout the competition. It was just an unfortunate evening,” Markram said, adding that the team would analyse mistakes and focus on improving for future tournaments.
South Africa’s next assignment will be a five-match T20 series against New Zealand starting March 15. Only three members of the World Cup squad — Keshav Maharaj, George Linde and Jason Smith — are set to take part in the tour.
