South Africa lost, New Zealand entered the 2026 T20 World Cup final, but it seems it’s the Kolkata Knight Riders who have ‘won’.
From the ballistic batting that Finn Allen and Tim Seifert launched at Eden Gardens on Wednesday evening, the Knights camp would be feeling that they have hit the jackpot even before IPL 2026 begins towards the end of this month. Both the New Zealand openers were recruited by the Knights at the last auction.
South Africa, who entered the semi-final as the only unbeaten team in this edition of the T20 World Cup, were crushed to powder by the brute force of Allen and Seifert. The target of 170 was met in 12.5 overs, with an astounding 43 balls still left in the New Zealand innings.
The chase was half complete when New Zealand plundered 84/0 in the Powerplay. If the South African bowlers had hoped for better results once the fielding restrictions were off after the Powerplay, the New Zealanders shocked them with an even fiercer attack.
When Seifert fell, castled by Kagiso Rabada, New Zealand were 117 with not even 10 overs consumed. But Seifert’s 58 off 33 balls was outshone by Allen’s 100 not out of 33 balls. Allen’s crazy batting saw him get his first fifty off 19 balls. The second? Off 14 balls! Ten boundaries and eight sixes mean 88 of his 100 runs came in boundaries. That’s carnage.
How good have Allen and Seifert together been in this tournament? They have scored 463 runs at an average of 77.16 from seven innings, with two century partnerships and one fifty stand to boast of.
Plan perfect
The platform for Allen and Seifert was, however, laid by the New Zealand bowlers. They came with a plan and executed it almost to perfection.
From picking up two wickets with Cole McConchie’s off-spin in the very second over of the innings, to rotating the bowlers wisely in the Powerplay to not let the Proteas score more than 48 in the first six overs, to bowling an excellent 20th over, in which Matt Henry conceded only 6 runs and picked up two wickets — the Black Caps knew what they were doing.
It was the New Zealanders’ discipline which stood out. A tight line and a tighter length seldom allowed the South Africans the width they needed to go for a swing. As a result, the Proteas managed only 29 runs from the seventh to the 10th over — they were 77/4 after 10 overs.
Nine overs of spin from the New Zealanders produced four wickets while giving away only 63 runs.
Had it not been for a spectacular fightback from Marco Jansen (55 n.o. off 30 balls), South Africa would have struggled to make 169/8. Besides Jansen, young Dewald Brevis (34 off 27 balls) and Tristan Stubbs (29 off 24 balls) also batted well. But with the Black Caps bowlers spreading a blanket of discipline on the proceedings, the occasional flamboyance of the South African batters went almost unnoticed.
It wasn’t an India game, yet almost 40,000 turned up at the Eden on Wednesday. Seems like they knew the script. Allen and Seifert, Eden Gardens, Knight Riders... Looks like a teaser before the real show begins in a month’s time.
