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Kolkata. New Zealand has made it to the final of the T20 World Cup 2026 by defeating South Africa by 9 wickets in the first semi-final. In this match played at Eden Garden, Kolkata, New Zealand completed the chase by losing 1 wicket in just 12.5 overs. With this victory, the Kiwi team has reached the final of the T20 World Cup for the second time. Earlier they had reached the final in 2021, but lost to Australia. Now New Zealand has a golden opportunity to win the title.

Finn Allen’s historic innings turned the match

Opener Finn Allen had the biggest contribution in this spectacular victory of New Zealand. He scored the fastest century in T20 World Cup history, scoring an unbeaten 100 off just 33 balls. His explosive innings included 10 fours and 8 sixes. Second opener Tim Seifert also played a quick inning of 58 runs in 33 balls. There was a partnership of 117 runs between the two for the first wicket, which made the chase easy.

South Africa’s batting was a struggle

New Zealand won the toss and chose to bowl first. South Africa had a very poor start and they lost the wickets of Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton for just 12 runs. Captain Aiden Markram and Dewald Brewis added 43 runs for the third wicket, but Markram was out after scoring 18 runs. After this, David Miller and Brewis also returned early, leaving the score at 5 wickets for 77 runs. In such difficult circumstances, Tristan Stubbs and Marco Yansen took charge. Both made an important partnership of 73 runs for the sixth wicket. Stubbs was out after scoring 29 runs, but Yansen remained at one end and scored unbeaten 55 runs in 30 balls (2 fours, 5 sixes). Thanks to his aggressive innings, South Africa could reach 169 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs.

New Zealand bowled brilliantly

New Zealand’s bowlers performed brilliantly. Rachin Ravindra took 2 wickets for 29 runs in 4 overs. Matt Henry also took 2 wickets for 34 runs in 4 overs. Cole McConkey took 2 wickets for 9 runs in his 1 over. Lockie Ferguson and Jimmy Neesham got 1-1 wicket.