South Africa National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Match Scorecard: 2026 T20 World Cup Semi Final

The first semi final of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup between South Africa vs New Zealand was hosted in the historic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata. The game was of massive interest as both the teams were good candidates in the final. South Africa attempted to accumulate a strong total by their middle order and strong finish of the final overs. The reply to this was, however, a batting display on the part of New Zealand as they went on the chase. Their openers dominated the match with violent stroke playing and good partnerships. The match soon became one-sided in favor of New Zealand and they easily won to earn their ticket to the final of the tournament. This article will provide complete information about the South Africa National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket team match scorecard.

South Africa vs New Zealand, 1st Semi-Final, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Match Details

Detail	Information
Match	South Africa vs New Zealand
Tournament	ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026
Stage	1st Semi-Final
Venue	Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Date	4 March 2026
Toss	New Zealand won the toss and elected to field
Result	New Zealand won by 9 wickets
Player of the Match	Finn Allen
South Africa Score	169/8 (20 overs)
New Zealand Score	173/1 (12.5 overs)

South Africa vs New Zealand, 1st Semi-Final T20 World Cup 2026 Match Overview

The two teams were heading to the semi-final on a good momentum in the tournament. South Africa had been active in their previous group stage of cricket and New Zealand were dangerous with their aggressive batting line up. New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner chose to put the first field after the draw of the coin. New Zealand bowlers soon rewarded the move by taking early wickets and putting South Africa under pressure. Third, one can attribute it to the middle-order efforts and an excellent late performance by Marco Jansen who helped South Africa to recover. But the reaction of the bat by New Zealand was simply outstanding. The pursuit seemed to be easy due to the sensational century by Finn Allen, which placed New Zealand on the final.

South Africa vs New Zealand, 1st Semi-Final Squad, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 

South Africa Squad

Player	Role
Aiden Markram	Batting All-rounder (Captain)
Quinton de Kock	Wicketkeeper Batter
Ryan Rickelton	Top Order Batter
Dewald Brevis	Middle Order Batter
David Miller	Finisher
Tristan Stubbs	Batter / All-rounder
Marco Jansen	Fast Bowling All-rounder
Corbin Bosch	All-rounder
Kagiso Rabada	Fast Bowler
Keshav Maharaj	Spin Bowler
Lungi Ngidi	Fast Bowler

New Zealand Squad

Player	Role
Tim Seifert	Wicketkeeper Batter
Finn Allen	Opening Batter
Rachin Ravindra	Batting All-rounder
Glenn Phillips	Middle Order Batter
Mark Chapman	Batter
Daryl Mitchell	Batting All-rounder
Mitchell Santner	Spin All-rounder (Captain)
James Neesham	All-rounder
Cole McConchie	All-rounder
Matt Henry	Fast Bowler
Lockie Ferguson	Fast Bowler

South Africa National Cricket Team vs New Zealand National Cricket Team Match Scorecard

1st innings Scorecard 

• The innings of South Africa started on a bad note as they started losing wickets in the early part of the powerplay.
• Quinton de Kock was dismissed early after trying to hit an aggressive shot and Ryan Rickelton was got out for a duck in the same over.
• Captain Aiden Markram attempted to reassemble the innings however he failed to speed up against the disciplined bowling attack of the New Zealand.
• Dewald Brevis gave a momentary reprieve with a sharp rap which helped bring the scoring pace under control.
• But still South Africa was losing wickets at frequent intervals. David Miller was cheaply dismissed and middle order was unable to construct big partnerships.
• The course of the innings changed radically with the last overs when Marco Jansen unleashed a strong counter attacking fifty.
• His innings drove South Africa to a competitive score. Jansen scored 55 of their 30 balls (five sixes among them) to score South Africa 169/8 in 20 overs.

Batter	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Aiden Markram	18	20	1	1	90.00
Quinton de Kock	10	8	1	1	125.00
Ryan Rickelton	0	1	0	0	0.00
Dewald Brevis	34	27	3	2	125.92
David Miller	6	6	0	0	100.00
Tristan Stubbs	29	24	2	1	120.83
Marco Jansen	55*	30	2	5	183.33
Corbin Bosch	2	3	0	0	66.66
Kagiso Rabada	0	1	0	0	0.00
Keshav Maharaj	1*	1	0	0	100.00
Extras	14
Total	169/8	20 overs

South Africa Fall of Wickets

Wicket	Score	Over
Quinton de Kock	12/1	1.4
Ryan Rickelton	12/2	1.5
Aiden Markram	55/3	7.4
David Miller	77/4	10.0
Dewald Brevis	77/5	10.2
Tristan Stubbs	150/6	18.1
Corbin Bosch	166/7	19.3
Kagiso Rabada	166/8	19.4

New Zealand Bowling Card

Bowler	Overs	Runs	Wickets	Economy
Matt Henry	4	34	2	8.50
Cole McConchie	1	9	2	9.00
Lockie Ferguson	4	29	1	7.25
James Neesham	3	42	1	14.00
Mitchell Santner	4	25	0	6.25
Rachin Ravindra	4	29	2	7.25

2nd Innings Scorecard

• The chase that New Zealand started was of an aggressive nature. Batting conditions favored openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen who attacked at the very first over.
• The two attacked South Africa’s bowlers and formed an enormous first-opening partnership.
• Allen was fearless in his batting and he bashed boundaries and sixes wherever he liked. Tim Seifert scored a crucial half-century before Kagiso Rabada dismissed him.
• Finn Allen went on to repeat his remarkable onslaught and record an impressive century of only 33 balls, among the quickest centuries in the history of T20 World Cup.
• New Zealand chased the target with the assistance of Rachlin Ravindra and won the match in a beautiful manner in 12.5 overs.

New Zealand Batting Scorecard

Batter	Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Tim Seifert	58	33	7	2	175.75
Finn Allen	100*	33	10	8	303.03
Rachin Ravindra	13*	11	2	0	118.18
Extras	2
Total	173/1	12.5 overs

New Zealand Fall of Wickets

Wicket	Score	Over
Tim Seifert	117/1	9.1

South Africa Bowling Card

Bowler	Overs	Runs	Wickets	Economy
Kagiso Rabada	3	28	1	9.33
Marco Jansen	2.5	53	0	18.70
Lungi Ngidi	2	22	0	11.00
Corbin Bosch	2	35	0	17.50
Keshav Maharaj	3	33	0	11.00

South Africa vs New Zealand, 1st Semi-Final, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Top Performers

Here are some of the top performers in the South Africa vs New Zealand semi final match.

Category	Player	Performance
Player of the Match	Finn Allen	100* (33)
Best SA Batter	Marco Jansen	55*
Best Bowler	Matt Henry	2 wickets
Best Partnership	Seifert & Allen	117 runs

South Africa vs New Zealand, 1st Semi-Final, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Match Highlights 

1st Innings Highlights

• In the first semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in Kolkata in Eden Gardens, New Zealand and its other team won the toss and chose to field first.
• South Africa was off to a bad start as Quinton de Kock was sacked within the second over of the innings.
• Ryan Rickelton too was sacked soon leaving South Africa in a tight spot at the beginning of their innings.
• Dewald Brevis gave an offensive knock, and supported the innings in the middle overs.
• Tristan Stubbs included valuable middle order additions and created a handy partnership with Marco Jansen.
• Marco Jansen played a great game using the bat and hit 55 unbeaten points out of 30 balls.
• South Africa completed their innings at 169 runs and lost eight wickets in 20 overs.
• The most successful bowlers of New Zealand were Matt Henry and Rachin Ravindra who took two wickets each.

2nd Innings Highlights

• New Zealand began their pursuit in a very aggressive manner with the openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert going at them early on.
• The first two established an enormous partnership and controlled the bowling attack in the powerplays in South Africa.
• Tim Seifert got a fast half-century and effectively supported the chase.
• Finn Allen gave a show of incredible batting and he made a brilliant century in only 33 balls.
• This was one of the fastest centuries in the history of T20 world cup as Allen made ten fours and eight sixes in his innings.
• Following the dismissal of Seifert, Rachlin Ravindra came in to the rescue of Allen and quietly assisted him in completing the pursuit.
• New Zealand was able to pursue the goal of 170 runs within 12.5 overs.
• The team emerged victorious by a margin of nine wickets and had 43 balls left.
• Finn Allen was the winner of the Player of the Match due to his demonstration of a good century.
• In this win, New Zealand also reached the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

Conclusion

The semi final match between South Africa and New Zealand was a memorable one due to the fearless batting strategy by New Zealand. South Africa did not fare badly but their bowling unit failed to deal with the pyrotechnic batting of Finn Allen.

The century that Allen won will be remembered as one of the most destructive innings in the record of the T20 world cup. His nonchalant attitude to the game entirely shifted the tide of events and assured a comfortable win to New Zealand. In the case of New Zealand, the victory led to a chance in the final of the T20 world cup and was used to showcase their violent nature of the game. In the case of South Africa, their campaign came to an end even though they battled with the bat.

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