Allen's 33-ball ton
New Zealand chased down South Africa’s 169 in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semifinal, reaching 173/1 in just 12.5 overs. (cricbuzz.com) Finn Allen blasted a 100 off 33 balls in that chase, with Rachin Ravindra also contributing late runs as NZ finished the job quickly. (cricbuzz.com)
New Zealand tore through South Africa’s target in Kolkata on March 4, reaching the Twenty20 World Cup final behind Finn Allen’s 33-ball century. (espncricinfo.com) Allen finished 100 not out from 33 balls, with 10 fours and eight sixes, as New Zealand got 173 for 1 in 12.5 overs to beat South Africa’s 169 for 8 by nine wickets with 43 balls left. (icc-cricket.com) Tim Seifert gave Allen a second hitter at the top with 58 from 33 balls, and their opening stand reached 117 before Kagiso Rabada took New Zealand’s only wicket in the 10th over. Rachin Ravindra then finished unbeaten on 13 from 11 balls. (icc-cricket.com) The hundred was the fastest in Men’s Twenty20 World Cup history, according to ESPNcricinfo and Cricbuzz, and it came in a semifinal rather than a group match. Allen’s strike rate in the chase was 303.03. (espncricinfo.com) (cricbuzz.com) South Africa’s total had looked competitive after Marco Jansen made 55 not out from 30 balls and Dewald Brevis added 34, but New Zealand’s chase removed the match as a contest inside the first half. South Africa also gave away 12 wides in their innings, while New Zealand’s batters conceded no extras at all in reply. (espncricinfo.com) New Zealand had only just squeezed into the knockout stage before this semifinal. ESPNcricinfo reported that the team had spent the previous weekend watching Sri Lanka against Pakistan to see whether results elsewhere would send them through. (espncricinfo.com) The win sent New Zealand into another Men’s Twenty20 World Cup final after their first appearance in the 2021 tournament, when they beat England in the semifinal and lost to Australia in the title match. South Africa, by contrast, had reached the 2024 final and finished runner-up to India. (espncricinfo.com 1) (espncricinfo.com 2) Allen’s innings turned a chase of 170 into a 77-ball sprint. By the time New Zealand crossed the line at Eden Gardens, the semifinal had produced one of the quickest hundreds and one of the fastest finishes the tournament has seen. (espncricinfo.com)
