It all slipped through South Africa’s fingers so quickly that they stood there at the end of the match with their heads down in disbelief. They were crushed by nine wickets at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata by the team that made it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
Perfect on the field until the semi-finals of the competition, South Africa bombed badly on Wednesday 4 March, failing with both bat and ball. Defending a total of 169 runs, the Proteas were bowled out by New Zealand openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, who helped chase down the target in just 12.5 overs.
Edges flew to boundaries, shots were connected cleanly from the middle of the bat and catches were either dropped or landed in no-man’s land – Lady Luck did not wish South Africa at all on the night. And there may be a good reason for that.
SA vs NZ T20 World Cup Semi Final: Highlights | Scorecard
South Africa made a nervous start to the match, losing Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton early in the power play. Aiden Markram and David Miller, two of the top batsmen in the South African side, had the responsibility of bailing the Rainbow Nation out of crisis but failed to capitalize on their chances. Markram, who has played exceptionally well in the tournament, batted first after losing the toss and ended up hitting Daryl Mitchell straight at long-on, 13 balls after being dropped by Rachin Ravindra at mid-wicket.
Miller, South Africa’s knight in shining armor against India earlier in the tournament, finished with a simple high catch just two balls after Glenn Phillips dropped a wicket at deep cover.
Fortune does not favor those who make the opportunity bigger than it is. Luck does not favor those who withdraw into their shells the moment the important day arrives. Luck does not favor those who refuse to play the cricket that made them successful, especially on difficult days.
South Africa would not have gone past 160 if not for a sensational counter-attack from Marc Jansen and Tristan Stubbs at the back of the innings. Jansen, who has had a rocky relationship with Eden Gardens in the past, scored 55* off just 30 balls to help the Proteas to a respectable total.
FINN ALLEN, SEIFERT DEMOLISH SOUTH AFRICA
But Eden – where Jansen once leaked runs for eight in an over in a low-scoring game – came back to haunt him again. With the ball, Jansen conceded 29 runs in his first two overs as South Africa were desperate for early wickets.
No luck for Jansen who managed to find the edge twice but one flew away for four while the other fell just short of Ryan Rickelton at slip.
Those two overs set the tone for South Africa on Wednesday as they failed to mount any pressure in the semi-final at the Eden Gardens.
Finn Allen and Tim Seifert’s pitches, drives and kicks came right down the middle of the bat. South Africa’s shoulders sank a little lower with each stroke, with suffering finally ending in the 13th over thanks to a raised drive from Finn Allen – aptly – which took him to 100* in the game.
Seifert blasted 58 off 33 balls to take New Zealand to 117 in the 10th over. By the time star pacer Kagiso Rabada finally broke through Seifert’s defence, the game was practically over.
On the other hand, Finn Allen dominated both pacers and spinners to hit a match-winning century off just 33 balls, helping New Zealand book their first T20 World Cup final since 2021.
It was a telling indictment of the mental assurance New Zealand possess despite several difficulties during this World Cup campaign.
First, they almost crashed out of the tournament after losing to England in the Super 8s. Their participation in the semi-finals depended on Pakistan not securing a win by a sufficient margin. As Pakistan began their final Super 8s match against Sri Lanka, half of the Kiwi team could start packing their bags. But fate intervened and they were finally able to board the flight to Calcutta.
To come out of such dire uncertainty and then produce this kind of destructive performance requires immense mental toughness and New Zealand showed they have plenty.
MARKRAM IS MISSING TICK
South Africa captain Aiden Markram, who was so meticulous in planning things against India, may have missed a trick or two at the Eden Gardens today.
Bowling against two right-handers who like to pedal the pace, neither Aiden introduced Keshav Maharaj early nor gave the ball to Lungi Ngidi instead of Jansen.
A left-arm bowler and one of the smartest guys on the international circuit, Maharaj could do well today.
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– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
04 March 2026 22:13 IST
