South Africa vs New Zealand T20 World Cup Highlights: Finn Allen's record century demolishes Proteas; Kiwis in final

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: Bowling change doesn't go Santner's way! James Neesham is met for a six and two fours – Brevis hits him through covers, either sid eof the cover fielder, to close out the over. Some momentum regained for South Africa.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: What a shot that is! Markram tries to give himself room, Jimmy Neesham follows him with the ball, but Markram clips it for six over midwicket! Big hit – flies all the way. The power in this man.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: DROPPED BY RACHIN RAVINDRA! Flicked to short mid-wicket, where Rachin is in a great position to take the catch. It's not hard-hit, and he gets down – inexplicable how he has shelled that!

Next ball, Markram punishes him. Gorgeous cover drive, standing tall and piercing the gap. 28/2 after 4 overs.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: This match is alive and kicking! It is Cole McConchie who makes the difference with his off-spin, as de Kock doesn't read the turn off the pitch early. Popped into the air and easily taken at mid-on.

Next ball, Rickelton tries to carve a cut, but it's a top-edge for which the field is set. Straight to backward point for an easy catch!

16/2 now.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: Big six! Trademark de Kock. Walks across the stumps and lifts Matt Henry for six over square leg. First blood to South Africa.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: Set to go in the middle! Matt Henry up front against Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock. He will want a wicket in the first over. Here we go!

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: South Africa return to full strength with Rabada, Jansen, and Maharaj coming back into the XI.

SA playing XI: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: Single change for the Kiwis, with Jimmy Neesham coming in in place of Ish Sodhi for some extra seam ahead of Ish Sodhi, as well as some batting depth. Matt Henry was 50-50 but makes it in time.

NZ playong XI: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: News from the middle! It is the Kiwis who win it, and Mitch Santner doesn't hesitate from bowling first – has been the go-to in Kolkata.

Sout Africa will be batting first team news first.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: This chart shows why South Africa’s bowling can attack in phases. Their workload is spread across Ngidi (24 overs), Bosch (23), Rabada (23.4) and Jansen (19.5), with wicket returns staying strong for three of those four. That means the Proteas are not dependent on a single strike route. New Zealand’s load is led by Henry (20.3) and Santner (20), while Ravindra’s 13 overs for 9 wickets stands out as high-impact output on a lighter workload. The contrast is clear: SA have broader heavy-usage depth; NZ have sharper dependence on key roles and efficiency.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: South Africa’s edge on this chart is about quality of wickets, not just quantity. Ngidi and Bosch sit in the premium zone — high wicket returns with strong economy — which means the Proteas are taking wickets without leaking heavily. That gives them more control across phases in a knockout. New Zealand’s best all-round point is Rachin Ravindra, with Matt Henry offering the next most balanced profile. But NZ’s support bowling is more split between control and strike, while SA’s attack shows more overlap of both.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: The top-right zone (high balls faced, high runs) is where the volume engines sit - and South Africa dominate that space through Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton, with Tim Seifert keeping New Zealand in that band. NZ’s strength also shows in a strong impact cluster around Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips, who combine healthy volume with high strike rates. It’s a useful semi-final read: SA have the clearer long-innings run engines, but NZ still carry multiple fast-burst hitters who can flip tempo quickly.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: This stacked boundary chart gives a better read than raw runs alone. South Africa’s batting shows a broader six-hitting spread - Rickelton (15 sixes), Brevis (12), Miller (10), Markram (10) - which adds layers of finishing and phase pressure. New Zealand’s top-end boundary volume is strong too, especially Seifert (34 total boundaries), but the Black Caps’ biggest contributors skew more towards fours, with Allen the standout power exception.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: Approaching time for the toss in Kolkata now. Toss will take place at 6:30 – both teams might take inspiration from India's successful chase against the West Indies a couple of days ago, in which India were always playing to match the`````````````````````````````` Windies' scoring rate but ultimately got over the line with a couple of balls to spare.

One thing to consider, though, will be the added pressure of runs on the board: targets always seem that much heftier in a knockout match, and especially in a game like this, coule be the difference.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: Here’s the bowling version of the impact map, combining economy rate, bowling average and strike rate in one frame. The strongest impact cluster is led by South Africa’s pace trio -Ngidi, Bosch and Jansen -with Rachin Ravindra right in that elite zone for New Zealand. Matt Henry also sits in a strong control-plus-strike band, while the chart shows a split in NZ’s attack between wicket options and economy control. Bottom line: SA bring more frontline bowling impact depth, but NZ still have enough high-value bowling points to make this a tactical battle.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: Here’s a batting impact / strike-power map combining average, strike rate and boundary frequency in one frame. South Africa’s biggest edge shows up in the upper-right power zone, with Aiden Markram and David Miller combining scoring speed with consistency, while Ryan Rickelton also sits in a strong impact band. For New Zealand, the cluster of Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips keeps them very much alive on strike power. In short: SA have the stronger spread at the top end, but NZ’s hitting core is good enough to swing the game fast.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: South Africa’s seam attack is driving the wicket charts going into the semi-final, with Lungi Ngidi (12) leading the combined list and both Corbin Bosch (11) and Marco Jansen (11) right behind him. New Zealand’s best wicket-taking return comes from Rachin Ravindra (9), while Matt Henry (7) and Lockie Ferguson (5) form the Black Caps’ main support line. The shape of the chart underlines the key bowling storyline: South Africa arrive with stronger strike depth, while New Zealand need their top wicket-takers to land early breakthroughs.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: South Africa captain Aiden Markram tops the combined run-scoring chart between the two semi-finalists with 268 runs, while Ryan Rickelton (228) gives the Proteas another major top-order pillar. New Zealand’s strongest volume comes from Tim Seifert (216), with Finn Allen (189) and Glenn Phillips (176) keeping their power core intact. The shape of the chart shows SA’s edge in top-end output, but NZ still bring enough batting punch to make this a matchup that can swing quickly if their hitters click early.

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has been the most economical bowler across the two squads in this World Cup run, with an economy of 6.35. But South Africa’s attack shows stronger depth just behind him, with Corbin Bosch (6.78) and Lungi Ngidi (6.87) keeping things tight, while Rachin Ravindra (6.76) has also been a major control-and-strike factor for New Zealand. This sets up a fascinating middle-overs and death-over contest: NZ have the best individual economy, but South Africa have multiple bowlers clustering in the control zone.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: If this semi-final turns into a boundary battle, Ryan Rickelton and Finn Allen are the names to watch. From the World Cup numbers so far, Rickelton is South Africa’s top six-hitter with 15 sixes, while Allen leads New Zealand with 12. South Africa also have strong support power through Dewald Brevis (12), David Miller (10) and Aiden Markram (10), which underlines their depth. For New Zealand, Tim Seifert (9) and Glenn Phillips (8) add the second wave. On the six-hitting spread alone, the Proteas come in with the bigger power stack.

South Africa hold the historical edge over New Zealand in T20Is, leading the rivalry 12-7 in 19 matches. They have been even more dominant in the T20 World Cup, winning all five meetings against the Black Caps. In India, though, the sample is tiny: just one T20I meeting before today’s semi-final, with South Africa winning that game (Ahmedabad, February 14, 2026). So the trend line favours the Proteas -but knockout cricket at Eden can still ignore history in one sharp night.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: The importance of this match cannot be understated. Neither of these teams has ever won a World Cup before – either in T20 or ODIs. The victor of today's contest will book a spot in the finals where they will have a chance to end that run – but for now the conversation revolves around what will happen in Kolkata. History's on the line as we get going here.

SA vs NZ T20 World Cup 2026 LIVE Score: Hope you are well-rested from the last two days of no World Cup action, because international cricket is back on our calendars as the T20 World Cup semifinals begin! First up, welcoming us from Kolkata, is the clash between South Africa and New Zealand. Should be an exciting match awaiting is at 7 pm – let's see what we can expect.