New Zealand outplay South Africa to reach T20 World Cup final

2026-03-04 - 16:43

New Zealand thrashed South Africa by nine wickets in the first semi-final at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens on Wednesday to reach the T20 World Cup final. Chasing a decent 170-run target for victory, New Zealand crossed the finish line with nine wickets and 43 balls remaining. Player of the match Finn Allen was the highest scorer for the Kiwis with an unbeaten 100 off just 33 balls, the fastest in the T20 World Cup history. During a fiery knock, the opener hit 10 fours and eight maximums. Wicket-keeper batter Tim Seifert made 58 off 33 balls, hitting seven fours and two maximums. Rachin Ravindra contributed an unbeaten 13 off 11 balls with the help of two boundaries. Kagiso Rabada picked up the only wicket to fall in the innings. After being put into bat by New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner, the Proteas reached 169/8 in their quota of 20 overs despite losing key wickets of Quinton de Kock (10) and Ryan Rickelton (0) in the second over. Marco Jansen was the top scorer, who made 55 off 30 balls, hitting two fours and five maximums. Dewald Brevis made 34 off 27 balls, laced with three fours and two maximums. Triston Stubbs contributed a valuable 29 off 24 balls with the help of two fours and one maximum. Skipper Aiden Markram made 18 off 20 balls with the help of one four and as many sixes. Matt Henry, Cole McConchie and Rachin Ravindra bagged two wickets each, while Lockie Ferguson and James Neesham took one wicket each. South Africa Plating XI: 1 Aiden Markram (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Ryan Rickelton, 4 Dewald Brevis, 5 David Miller, 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Corbin Bosch, 09 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Keshav Maharaj, 11 Lungi Ngidi New Zealand Playing XI: 1 Tim Seifert (wk), 2 Finn Allen, 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Mark Chapman, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 James Neesham, 9 Cole McConchie, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Lockie Ferguson Sialkot Stallionz rebranded as Multan Sultans ahead of PSL 2026