Kolkata, March 4: New Zealand has secured a spot in the T20 World Cup 2026 final after a commanding 9-wicket victory over South Africa in the semi-finals. The match took place at Eden Gardens Stadium on Wednesday. Following this impressive win, Kiwi captain Mitchell Santner expressed his satisfaction with the team’s performance.
After the match, Santner stated, “It feels great to win this match. Considering how strong South Africa is, performing like this in such a crucial game is very satisfying.”
New Zealand faced a setback in their last Super-8 match, losing to England by 4 wickets. However, they advanced to the semi-finals due to a superior net run rate compared to Pakistan.
Reflecting on their strategy and bouncing back from previous losses, Santner said, “Every time you step onto the field and lose, you learn something. Today, our focus was on maintaining consistent pressure. When you take wickets at regular intervals, it becomes challenging for the batsmen.”
Santner entrusted the ball to Cole McConchie (9/2) during the powerplay, who made an impact by taking two wickets in his first over, putting South Africa on the back foot.
He added, “We had a set plan for the first two overs, after which the bowlers had the freedom to execute. When Dewald Brevis came in, we knew he favored spin, so we decided it was better to keep the ball away from him.”
Batting first, South Africa managed to score 169 runs, losing 8 wickets. In response, New Zealand achieved a remarkable victory, thanks to a 117-run partnership for the first wicket between Tim Seifert and Finn Allen.
Seifert remained unbeaten at 58 runs off 33 balls, hitting 2 sixes and 7 fours, while Finn Allen scored an impressive 100 runs off 33 balls, including 8 sixes and 10 fours.
Praising his openers, Santner remarked, “It was special; honestly, it was great to see that partnership. We were quite happy with a target of 170 runs, but anything can happen in T20. If we had lost wickets in the powerplay, it would have increased the challenge, but they (Allen-Seifert) played aggressively. Finn maintained an excellent rhythm. A century in 33 balls is no small feat.”
New Zealand will face off in the final match on March 8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Before the big game, Santner mentioned, “If we can replicate this performance, it would be great. The next venue is different; there are various factors like red soil and black soil. Overall, it was a fantastic performance. I’m not sure if it was a perfect game, but we were good in several phases. Today, we were solid throughout the match.”
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