New Zealand Demolish South Africa in T20 World Cup 2026 Semi-Final

8th April 2026

New Zealand produced a stunning semi-final performance at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Wednesday, 4 March, to reach the T20 Cricket World Cup 2026 Final. They bowled South Africa out for 169 and then chased it down in barely 13 overs – 9 wickets down with 43 balls to spare.

South Africa Innings – 169/8

South Africa never found any momentum after losing two wickets inside two overs. Ryan Rickelton fell for a golden duck, and Quinton de Kock went shortly after for 10. Dewald Brevis offered some resistance with 34 off 27, and Marco Jansen launched a brilliant late assault – 55 not out off 30 balls at a strike rate of 183.33 with 5 sixes – to push the total to 169/8.

For New Zealand, Rachin Ravindra (2/29) and Matt Henry (2/34) were the pick of the bowlers, while Cole McConchie snapped two key wickets in a single over.

New Zealand Chase – 173/1

What followed was extraordinary. Finn Allen put on one of the great World Cup innings – 100 not out off just 33 balls at a strike rate of 303.03, hammering 10 fours and 8 sixes. He and Tim Seifert (58 off 33, SR 175.76) put on 117 for the first wicket to virtually seal the match before half time. New Zealand reached their target in the 13th over, Rachin Ravindra finishing unbeaten on 13.

South Africa’s bowlers had no answers. Marco Jansen, so good with the bat, conceded 53 from 2.5 overs (econ 21.2). Kagiso Rabada was the only bowler to take a wicket in the chase.

Statz Ratings

Finn Allen scored 96.4 on the Statz Rating leaderboard – one of the highest scores of the tournament. Rachin Ravindra (48.2) and Marco Jansen (47.1) rounded out the top three, with Jansen’s batting heroics giving him a strong rating despite the defeat.

Statz Ratings powered by Statz Cricket – combining batting impact, bowling effectiveness, and contextual factors on a 0-100 scale.