New Zealand Dominates South Africa to Reach Second T20 World Cup Final; Finn Allen Smashes Record-Breaking Century

Kolkata. New Zealand has advanced to the T20 World Cup final for the second time. The Kiwi team secured its final berth by defeating South Africa by a massive margin of 9 wickets in the first semi-final held on Wednesday. The Kiwi side had previously reached the final in 2021 for the first time.

At Kolkata's Eden Gardens Stadium, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl first. Batting first, South Africa scored 169 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, New Zealand comfortably chased down the target of 170 runs in just 12.5 overs, losing only 1 wicket.

New Zealand opener Finn Allen played a historic unbeaten innings of 100 runs off just 33 balls. This is the fastest century in T20 World Cup history. Allen broke the record held by West Indies legend Chris Gayle, who had scored a century off 47 balls against England in 2016.

Key Records and Interesting Facts Set in This Semi-Final:

• 33 balls: The number of balls Finn Allen took to complete his century. This is the fastest century in the men's T20 World Cup. He surpassed Chris Gayle's previous record by 14 balls. This century is also the fastest in the overall T20 World Cup (both men's and women's). Previously, Deandra Dottin scored a century off 38 balls in the women's tournament in 2010. This is also New Zealand's fastest T20 International century (Glenn Phillips previously held it off 46 balls).
• 2: The number of centuries scored faster than Allen's 33-ball century in T20 Internationals. Sahil Chauhan of Estonia (27 balls in 2024) and Muhammad Fahad of Turkey (29 balls in 2025) have scored faster centuries.
• Full Member Nation Record: This is jointly the fastest century scored by a player from a Full Member nation. Allen equaled Sikandar Raza's 33-ball century. Furthermore, this is the fastest century ever scored against a Full Member nation. Previously, David Miller and Rohit Sharma had scored centuries off 35 balls. Allen's innings is one of the four T20 International centuries scored at a strike rate over 300.
• 3: The number of centuries Finn Allen has scored in T20 Internationals. This is jointly the highest for New Zealand, alongside Colin Munro.
• 1: Allen became the first batter to score a century in the knockout stage of the men's T20 World Cup. Previously, Tillakaratne Dilshan's unbeaten 96 in the 2009 semi-final was the highest score in a knockout match.
• 19 balls: The number of balls Allen took to complete his half-century. This is the fastest half-century in a men's T20 World Cup knockout match. Previously, Yuvraj Singh had scored a fifty off 20 balls.
• 18 Boundaries and 88 Runs: The number of boundaries (fours/sixes) Allen hit in his innings. This is jointly the highest number of boundaries in a single innings of the men's T20 World Cup; he equaled Brendon McCullum's record. He scored 88 runs from boundaries alone, which is jointly the highest with Chris Gayle.
• 20 Sixes: The total number of sixes Allen hit in this World Cup. Including the 8 sixes on Wednesday, he set the record for the most sixes in a single T20 World Cup edition. Previously, Shimron Hetmyer held the record with 19 sixes in this edition.
• 463 Runs: The partnership runs between Finn Allen and Tim Seifert in this World Cup. This is the highest partnership run total by any pair in any men's T20 series or tournament. This pair also completed 1000 partnership runs in T20 Internationals on Wednesday.
• 1: This is New Zealand's first victory against South Africa in the men's T20 World Cup. New Zealand had lost all five previous encounters. However, New Zealand has defeated South Africa consecutively for the fourth time in ICC knockout matches.
• 13.48: New Zealand's run rate while chasing the target. This is the second-highest run rate in the men's T20 World Cup when chasing a target of over 150.
• 84/0: New Zealand's score in the powerplay. This is New Zealand's highest and the highest powerplay score in knockout history in the T20 World Cup.
• 55 Runs: The runs scored by Marco Jansen batting at number 7 or lower. This is jointly the highest for South Africa in T20 Internationals. He shared a record 73-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Tristan Stubbs.
• 2: The number of matches South Africa has lost in the 2024 and 2026 T20 World Cup editions. South Africa, after winning 8 consecutive matches in 2024, lost in the final; in 2026, they lost in the semi-final after winning 7 consecutive matches. This is South Africa's first loss when batting first since 2021.