173/1 (12.5)
CR : 13.48
169/8 (20.0)
CR : 8.45
New Zealand won by 9 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Finn Allen
100(33)
Most Consecutive Wins in Men’s T20 World Cup:
12 – India (2024-2026)
8 – South Africa (2024)
8 – Australia (2022–2024)
7 – England (2010-12)
7 – India (2012–2014)
7 – South Africa (2026) (Streak End Tonight*)
12 – India (2024-2026)
8 – South Africa (2024)
8 – Australia (2022–2024)
7 – England (2010-12)
7 – India (2012–2014)
7 – South Africa (2026) (Streak End Tonight*)
NUMBERS GAME: Rachin Ravindra is the first New Zealand player to score 100+ runs and take 10+ wickets in a single T20 World Cup edition. He has scored 128 runs and picked up 11 wickets so far in this tournament.
Biggest Win in the knockouts of the ICC Men's T20 WC (By Wickets)
10 – England vs India, Adelaide, 2022
9 – South Africa vs Afghanistan, Tarouba, 2024
9 – New Zealand vs South Africa, Kolkata, 2026, tonight*
8 – Australia vs New Zealand, Dubai, 2021
8 – Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Lord’s, 2009
10 – England vs India, Adelaide, 2022
9 – South Africa vs Afghanistan, Tarouba, 2024
9 – New Zealand vs South Africa, Kolkata, 2026, tonight*
8 – Australia vs New Zealand, Dubai, 2021
8 – Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Lord’s, 2009
Most Expensive Figures in Knockout Match in T20 WCs:
0/60 – Mitchell Starc (Australia) vs New Zealand, Dubai (DICS), 2021 (Final)
0/54 – Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) vs West Indies, Colombo (RPS), 2012 (Final)
0/53 – Marco Jansen (South Africa) vs New Zealand, Kolkata, 2026, Tonight* (SF)
0/60 – Mitchell Starc (Australia) vs New Zealand, Dubai (DICS), 2021 (Final)
0/54 – Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) vs West Indies, Colombo (RPS), 2012 (Final)
0/53 – Marco Jansen (South Africa) vs New Zealand, Kolkata, 2026, Tonight* (SF)
Aiden Markram (South Africa Captain): (On why the team struggled in the match) “I think it comes down to the conditions. They bowled really well up front, quite full. Some balls were coming on nicely, while others were stopping a bit in the wicket and hitting low on the bat, which made scoring difficult. That built pressure, and we ended up losing wickets. Credit to their bowling unit. And then when someone plays an innings like that in the chase, it’s very hard for the fielding side to come out on top.
(On whether 170 was a competitive score and the opposition’s batting performance) To be honest, getting to 170 was a really good effort. At the halfway mark, we felt like we had a chance. But in T20 cricket, the powerplay is crucial, and they got off to a flying start. You can’t protect every boundary, unfortunately, and once they got going, it became very difficult to pull it back. Credit to Finn Allen and Tim Seifert for their knocks - they took the game away from us early.
(On what could have been done differently) It’s hard to say right now. We’ll reflect on it as a group. The pitch looked pretty good, so maybe we could have adapted quicker with the bat. Perhaps gone with a more traditional approach, building the innings and grinding our way to around 180-190, which might have kept us in the game.
(On speaking to the team after the loss) First you let the emotions settle. After that, we’ll sit down together, review the game, and look at where we could have been better. Then you move forward, try to improve as a team and as individuals. It’s very disappointing - it feels like a big slap in the face, but hopefully we can learn from it and come back stronger in the future.”
(On whether 170 was a competitive score and the opposition’s batting performance) To be honest, getting to 170 was a really good effort. At the halfway mark, we felt like we had a chance. But in T20 cricket, the powerplay is crucial, and they got off to a flying start. You can’t protect every boundary, unfortunately, and once they got going, it became very difficult to pull it back. Credit to Finn Allen and Tim Seifert for their knocks - they took the game away from us early.
(On what could have been done differently) It’s hard to say right now. We’ll reflect on it as a group. The pitch looked pretty good, so maybe we could have adapted quicker with the bat. Perhaps gone with a more traditional approach, building the innings and grinding our way to around 180-190, which might have kept us in the game.
(On speaking to the team after the loss) First you let the emotions settle. After that, we’ll sit down together, review the game, and look at where we could have been better. Then you move forward, try to improve as a team and as individuals. It’s very disappointing - it feels like a big slap in the face, but hopefully we can learn from it and come back stronger in the future.”
Mitchell Santner (New Zealand Captain): "(On the domination tonight) 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 was obviously pretty pleasing.
(On the learnings from the group stage game against SA in Ahmedabad) Yeah, 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, and they played unbelievably well, especially on a wicket like that. So, I guess today it 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 in the Ahmedabad game. But I think if you can take wickets throughout, it's obviously a challenge to keep going at the back.
(Plans of rotating the bowlers) There was always a plan. Playing for the first two overs, and then it's kind of free-for-all after that. I think with, obviously, the right-handers coming out, Brevis, obviously, likes spin. So we thought maybe if the ball was spinning away a bit more, it might be a bit more of a challenge, but I think even when it's up in a slot, he kind of hits it and it stays hit. So, it was about trying to chop and change, because the wicket was pretty good. Obviously, a small ground, fast outfield. I guess we were able to keep chipping wickets away through the middle, and then, Stubbsy and Jansen obviously played a great knocks to get them up to 170.
(On Allen and Seifert) It was nice to watch I'm not going to lie, I guess we were very happy with the 170 going into the second half but you never know. I think wickets in the power play is always a challenge and they kind of just went out there and played their game and took it on which was cool to see. I think that kind of opening partnership you get through a power play, no doubt it puts you in a pretty good position. Then obviously, Finn just carried on. I mean 33 balls for 100 is not bad. (chuckles).
(On playing the final at Ahmedabad) It's a different ground. We've been there before obviously. I think depending on where you are it's red soil, black soil. There's a lot of different factors that go in different sized grounds. Pretty happy tonight with the win. We've got a couple more days to really think about what happens next. It was a pretty good performance. I said before we haven't really played the perfect game, I know it's always a cliche thing but we've been good in periods and then, today I think we were pretty good all the way through."
(On the learnings from the group stage game against SA in Ahmedabad) Yeah, 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, and they played unbelievably well, especially on a wicket like that. So, I guess today it 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 in the Ahmedabad game. But I think if you can take wickets throughout, it's obviously a challenge to keep going at the back.
(Plans of rotating the bowlers) There was always a plan. Playing for the first two overs, and then it's kind of free-for-all after that. I think with, obviously, the right-handers coming out, Brevis, obviously, likes spin. So we thought maybe if the ball was spinning away a bit more, it might be a bit more of a challenge, but I think even when it's up in a slot, he kind of hits it and it stays hit. So, it was about trying to chop and change, because the wicket was pretty good. Obviously, a small ground, fast outfield. I guess we were able to keep chipping wickets away through the middle, and then, Stubbsy and Jansen obviously played a great knocks to get them up to 170.
(On Allen and Seifert) It was nice to watch I'm not going to lie, I guess we were very happy with the 170 going into the second half but you never know. I think wickets in the power play is always a challenge and they kind of just went out there and played their game and took it on which was cool to see. I think that kind of opening partnership you get through a power play, no doubt it puts you in a pretty good position. Then obviously, Finn just carried on. I mean 33 balls for 100 is not bad. (chuckles).
(On playing the final at Ahmedabad) It's a different ground. We've been there before obviously. I think depending on where you are it's red soil, black soil. There's a lot of different factors that go in different sized grounds. Pretty happy tonight with the win. We've got a couple more days to really think about what happens next. It was a pretty good performance. I said before we haven't really played the perfect game, I know it's always a cliche thing but we've been good in periods and then, today I think we were pretty good all the way through."
Most 100s for New Zealand in T20Is:
3 – Colin Munro, Finn Allen*
2 – Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Glenn Phillips
3 – Colin Munro, Finn Allen*
2 – Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Glenn Phillips
100s for New Zealand in T20 WCs:
123 – Brendon McCullum vs Bangladesh, Pallekele, 2012
104 – Glenn Phillips vs Sri Lanka, Sydney, 2022
100* – Finn Allen vs South Africa, Kolkata, 2026, Tonight*
123 – Brendon McCullum vs Bangladesh, Pallekele, 2012
104 – Glenn Phillips vs Sri Lanka, Sydney, 2022
100* – Finn Allen vs South Africa, Kolkata, 2026, Tonight*
Most Runs from 4s and 6s in an Innings in T20 WCs:
88 – Chris Gayle (West Indies) vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2007 (117 in 57 balls)
88 – Finn Allen (New Zealand) vs South Africa, Kolkata, 2026 (100 in 33 balls), Tonight*
86 – Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) vs Bangladesh, Pallekele, 2012 (123 in 58 balls)
86 – Chris Gayle (West Indies) vs England, Mumbai, 2016 (100 in 48 balls)
80 – Alex Hales (England) vs Sri Lanka, Chattogram, 2014 (116 in 64 balls)
80 – Yuvraj Samra (Canada) vs New Zealand, Chennai, 2026 (110 in 65 balls)
88 – Chris Gayle (West Indies) vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2007 (117 in 57 balls)
88 – Finn Allen (New Zealand) vs South Africa, Kolkata, 2026 (100 in 33 balls), Tonight*
86 – Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) vs Bangladesh, Pallekele, 2012 (123 in 58 balls)
86 – Chris Gayle (West Indies) vs England, Mumbai, 2016 (100 in 48 balls)
80 – Alex Hales (England) vs Sri Lanka, Chattogram, 2014 (116 in 64 balls)
80 – Yuvraj Samra (Canada) vs New Zealand, Chennai, 2026 (110 in 65 balls)
New Zealand punched above their weight; and after dominating throughout the tournament, South Africa stumbled in the semifinal — a tale as old as time some would say. But it once again reiterates, that in T20 cricket, especially in knockout matches, nothing can be taken for granted.
India and England both know it too. Hence, there will be no room for complacency when they lock horns in the second semifinal tomorrow at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Of course, we will be here to call the action. Do join us for that blockbuster clash tomorrow. We will be live at 6:00 PM IST.
For now, this is Darpan Tikiya signing off on the behalf of AkshayaKrishna Polya, Dev Rajawat, Pritam Dey, Raju Khariya and Aman — the men who were responsible for bringing this live coverage to you. We hope you enjoyed it. See you tomorrow! Sayonara!
India and England both know it too. Hence, there will be no room for complacency when they lock horns in the second semifinal tomorrow at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Of course, we will be here to call the action. Do join us for that blockbuster clash tomorrow. We will be live at 6:00 PM IST.
For now, this is Darpan Tikiya signing off on the behalf of AkshayaKrishna Polya, Dev Rajawat, Pritam Dey, Raju Khariya and Aman — the men who were responsible for bringing this live coverage to you. We hope you enjoyed it. See you tomorrow! Sayonara!