The T20 world cup of 2026 first semi-final appeared to turn into a night of domination to New Zealand. The Black Caps created a fear exhibition at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata to win over South Africa and qualify into the final of the tournament.
South Africa had already scored 169 runs on the board having decided to bat. Innings never got on to their own level, however. Marco Jansen was exceptional in fighting half-century and Dewald Brevis made 34 runs but the other batters were unable to form partnership with the rest of the batting order. This saw the Proteas end with a competitive but chaseable total.
What ensued in the response by New Zealand transformed the whole face of the game.
The first two Tim Seifert and Finn Allen attacked the first over itself. The two batters ran after the bowling rather than taking time to settle. Boundaries were frequent and the bowlers of the South African side lost the control of the run rate within a few minutes. New Zealand was already past 80 runs by the end of the powerplay making the chase well under their possession.
Finn Allen did the actual harm, however.
The opening bowler made an incredible striking knock that entirely disintegrated the bowling of South Africa. Allen took only 19 balls to reach his half-century after which he picked up steam. He would go on to finish the spectacular century on just 33 deliveries, hitting 10 fours and 8 sixes in the process. It was also one of the fastest striking knocks in the tournament having a strike rate of more than 300.
Allen was the first to win a game with such great number of innings and at the same time broke a huge record. His hundred was the fastest T20 world cup century by a New Zealand batter and one of the fastest T20 International centuries. More to the point, it made sure that the chase was not complicated.
New Zealand completed the goal with ease, and secured a resounding victory and guaranteed their place in the T20 World Cup 2026 final. The semi-final which many thought would be close ended up being a demonstration of fearless batting.
To New Zealand, the act is a very powerful message in the run up to the title battle. And to Finn Allen it will be remembered as one of the most devastating innings ever adopted in a knockout game in a World Cup.