Kolkata: Finn Allen hammered a record 33-ball hundred – the fastest in T20 World Cup history – as New Zealand lived up to their reputation of being a clutch team in the knockouts with a nine-wicket thumping of South Africa in the first semi-final at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
In possibly one of the most one-sided semi-finals since the 10-wicket thrashing handed to India by England in the 2022 edition, New Zealand scored at 13.48 runs per over to cross the 170-run target with an incredible 43 balls to spare.
Once again Marco Jansen endured a nightmare, conceding 53 runs in 2.5 overs even though he had finished the South Africa innings as the only half-centurion (55* off 30 balls), taking the Proteas to 169/8 after being reduced to 77/5 at the halfway mark.
In reply, Tim Seifert and Allen raised hundred runs in just 47 balls to set up a chase that rendered South Africa completely rudderless.
Another semi-final at Eden, another heartbreak, South Africa would be struggling to find what went wrong after staying unbeaten up to this humbling.
Yet again, New Zealand were greater than the sum of their parts on a pitch that demanded patience and adaptability. Pacer Matt Henry, off spinner Cole McConchie and slow left arm bowler Rachin Ravindra took two wickets each but the real unsung hero was yet again captain Mitchell Santner who conceded just 25 runs in four overs, all bowled in the middle overs. That, and Lockie Ferguson’s 1/29 meant South Africa were never really in charge of their innings. The last five overs did produce 61 runs but with Santner ensuring only 60 runs were conceded in the middle nine overs, South Africa ended up with at least 20 short of the par score.
It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, not at least the way Seifert and Allen went about chasing. Two mishits fetched Seifert two boundaries and Jansen some confidence that he was causing the ball to do something. Or so he thought.
In his next over, Allen cleared his left leg and hit him through the line for a straight six. Two balls later, Seifert moved across his stumps for an audacious scoop that cleared the fine leg fence for another six.
Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada looked promising but kept conceding at least one boundary an over till Corbin Bosch was handed the ball and Allen took stance. He sliced the first ball hard over backward point for a six before going 4.4,4,4 to dismantle Bosch’s confidence and help New Zealand finish the powerplay on a stupendous 84/0.
By then Seifert had reached his fifty in 28 balls, before Allen took 21 balls to reach his and achieve the record of the fastest World Cup fifty for New Zealand. From there, it was easy pickings for Allen and New Zealand.
The real work though, was done earlier. McConchie’s off-breaks isn’t exactly unknown territory. The ball wasn’t going through easily, which only made playing McConchie tougher. Quinton de Kock went down the ground to him, but McConchie kept pulling back his length. Next ball, de Kock moved away and tried to pull hard but holed to mid-on.
Ryan Rickelton came to the crease and attempted a fierce cut against McConchie, but it ended up as a slice to Allen at short third man. Facing the hat-trick ball, Dewald Brevis too flashed at it hard, producing a thick edge that flew through a vacant slip for four. Nothing about that boundary screamed confidence as South Africa went from one disaster to another.
Markram was dropped by Ravindra off Ferguson at midwicket, prompting the South Africa captain to punch him through covers for a boundary the next ball.
Jimmy Neesham came to bowl the fifth over, and Markram immediately whipped him for a 77m six over mid-wicket before Brevis threaded the covers with two exquisite fours.
Ravindra made amends for that drop by firing the ball into the legs of Markram, who did not find the middle of the bat as his lofted shot travelled towards Daryl Mitchell at long-on. Mitchell almost grassed the catch, but that was followed by the quick dismissals of David Miller and Brevis, leaving South Africa staring down the hole pretty quickly into their innings.