Finn Allen, Seifert Knock South Africa Out As New Zealand Storm Into T20 World Cup Final

New Zealand crush South Africa in semi-final [Source: @3rdManView/x]

New Zealand bulldozed South Africa in a lop-sided semi-final to storm into the final of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Chasing a commendable target after Marco Jansen’s fireworks, both New Zealand openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen clattered burgeoning 50-plus scores in the run chase. 

Here, we take a look at the entire highlights from the first semi-final match of the T20 World Cup 2026 between South Africa and New Zealand, as it panned out at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, March 4.

Marco Jansen lifts South Africa to 169 after McConchie, Ravindra strikes

Put into bat, South Africa’s top-order was rocked early by New Zealand spinner Cole McConchie (2-9), who dismissed Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton off successive deliveries in just the second over of the match. Captain Aiden Markram struggled to get going, scoring a sluggish 18 off 20 deliveries before falling to Rachin Ravindra right after the powerplay overs.

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Ravindra also got rid of hard-hitting David Miller for just six around the halfway stage of the innings to claim figures of 2-29. A couple of deliveries later, Jimmy Neesham curtailed Dewald Brevis’ well-set stay at 34 from 27 balls.

Tottering at 77-5 in 10.2 overs, Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen crafted a counterattacking 73-run partnership to blaze the Proteas past the 150-run mark. While Stubbs composed 29 off 24 balls, Jansen launched five huge sixes and two cracking boundaries to slap an electrifying 30-ball 55*.

Wickets for fast bowlers Matt Henry (2-34) and Lockie Ferguson (1-29) in the slog overs eventually restricted South Africa to 169-8 by the completion of their innings.

Tim Seifert, Finn Allen deliver knockout punch

New Zealand openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen broke South Africa’s back early in the chase with a blistering 117-run partnership in just 9.1 overs. Seifert tonked 58 runs off just 33 deliveries with seven boundaries and two huge sixes. The cricketer raced to his half-century from just 28 balls before getting knocked over by Kagiso Rabada around the halfway stage of the innings.

Finn Allen, on the other hand, initiated New Zealand’s aggression in the powerplay and raced to a 19-ball fifty. The hard-hitting opener ended up muscling 100* off just 33 balls to record the fastest-ever century in the history of the T20 World Cup. Allen launched eight huge sixes and 10 boundaries, including one to notch up the winning runs for the ‘Black Caps’ in just 12.5 overs with nine wickets to spare.

His second-wicket partner Rachin Ravindra himself remained unbeaten at 13* off 11 balls as New Zealand halted South Africa’s unbeaten run.

And then, there were three…

The outcome marked New Zealand’s first-ever victory over South Africa in a T20 World Cup game after losing five matches in a row.

The ‘Black Caps’ have now knocked South Africa out to qualify for the final of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Mitchell Santner and co. will now face either India or England for the title clash later this week at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium.

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