New Zealand crushed South Africa by nine wickets in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday. Chasing 170, the Kiwis raced to 173 for 1 in just 12.5 overs to book their place in the final. Finn Allen smashed a record-breaking unbeaten 100 off 33 balls, while Tim Seifert scored 58 off 33 balls to seal a one-sided win.
South Africa, who were runners up to India in the 2024 edition, saw their campaign end in the last four once again.
Fastest century lights up chase
The chase was all about New Zealand’s openers. Seifert attacked from the start and helped his team score 84 runs in the power play. Allen soon took charge and hit Corbin Bosch for 22 runs in the last over of the power play.
Seifert reached his fifty in 28 balls before Kagiso Rabada bowled him with the score at 117 for 1 in 9.1 overs. But that was the only success for South Africa.
Allen continued his assault and brought up his century in just 33 balls with a boundary to finish the match. His strike rate was above 300. The knock broke the record for the fastest century in T20 World Cup history, going past Chris Gayle’s 47-ball hundred in 2016. It is also the joint fastest T20I century by a player from a full member nation.
South Africa recover after early collapse
Earlier, South Africa posted 169 for 8 after being sent in to bat. Their top order struggled as they slipped to 12 for 2 inside two overs. Cole McConchie removed Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton in successive balls.
Aiden Markram and Dewald Brevis added 43 runs, but wickets kept falling. Rachin Ravindra dismissed Markram and, later, David Miller. Jimmy Neesham also struck to leave South Africa at 77 for 5 in the 11th over.
Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen then rebuilt the innings with a 73-run stand for the sixth wicket. They scored 22 runs in the 18th over to push the total past 150. Stubbs made 29 while Jansen stayed unbeaten on 55 off 30 balls with five sixes.
However, the total was not enough against a strong New Zealand batting show.
New Zealand will now face the winner of the India vs England semi-final in the title clash. South Africa will next play a five-match T20I series against New Zealand starting March 15.
