Kolkata, March 4: New Zealand opener Finn Allen made headlines with a stunning century against South Africa in the first semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. His explosive innings not only propelled New Zealand to the finals but also saw him break multiple records.
Allen scored an unbeaten 100 runs off just 33 balls, featuring 10 fours and 8 sixes. With his eighth six, he became the player with the most sixes in a single World Cup edition, surpassing Shimron Hetmyer, who hit 19 sixes, and Sahibzada Farhan, with 18.
Previously, the record for the most sixes in a World Cup was held by Nicholas Pooran, who hit 17 sixes in the 2024 edition. Rahmanullah Gurbaz from Afghanistan and Chris Gayle both hit 16 sixes in the 2024 and 2012 World Cups, respectively.
Allen’s century is now the fastest in T20 World Cup history, breaking Chris Gayle’s record of 47 balls set during the 2016 World Cup against England.
Additionally, Allen has now recorded the highest score in knockout matches of the T20 World Cup, surpassing Tillakaratne Dilshan’s unbeaten 96 runs against the West Indies in the 2009 semi-final.
He becomes the third New Zealander to score a century in the T20 World Cup, joining the ranks of Brendon McCullum, who scored 123 against Bangladesh in 2012, and Glenn Phillips, who made 104 against Sri Lanka in 2022.
In the match, South Africa batted first after losing the toss, posting 169 runs for 8 wickets. In response, New Zealand chased down the target, scoring 173 runs for 1 wicket in just 12.5 overs, winning the match by 9 wickets. Besides Allen’s remarkable century, Tim Seifert contributed with 58 runs off 33 balls. Finn Allen was named Player of the Match.
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