New Zealand stormed into the men’s T20 World Cup final after defeating South Africa by nine wickets in the semi-final on Wednesday.
Chasing 170 runs, New Zealand reached the target with more than seven overs remaining, powered by a record-breaking century from Finn Allen.
Earlier, South Africa scored 169 for 8 in their 20 overs after New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl on a slow Eden Gardens pitch.
New Zealand bowlers restrict South Africa South Africa lost early wickets after New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner introduced off-spinning all-rounder Cole McConchie in the second over.
McConchie dismissed Quinton de Kock for 10 and Ryan Rickelton for a golden duck in the same over, putting South Africa under early pressure.
Rachin Ravindra later removed Aiden Markram and David Miller, finishing with 2 wickets for 29 runs. Matt Henry and Jimmy Neesham also picked up key wickets as South Africa slipped to 77 for 5.
Marco Jansen then led South Africa’s recovery with a powerful innings. He scored 55 runs from 30 balls and shared a 73-run partnership with Tristan Stubbs for the sixth wicket. Stubbs contributed 29 runs.
Lockie Ferguson broke the partnership in the 19th over, while Henry finished the innings by taking two late wickets.
New Zealand’s chase was dominated by Finn Allen’s explosive batting. Allen smashed a 33-ball century — the fastest hundred in men’s T20 World Cup history — hitting 18 boundaries during his innings.
He surpassed the previous tournament record held by Chris Gayle, who scored a 47-ball century in 2016.
Tim Seifert also played a crucial role, scoring 58 runs and helping New Zealand reach 84 without loss in the powerplay — the highest powerplay score in a T20 World Cup knockout match.
Seifert was eventually dismissed by Kagiso Rabada, but Allen continued the attack and guided New Zealand to victory alongside Rachin Ravindra.
The emphatic win sends New Zealand into their second men’s T20 World Cup final and ends South Africa’s unbeaten run in the tournament.
