KOLKATA: The next morning, it all still felt a little unreal. It was as if the Garden of Eden was briefly removed from normal time and no one told South Africa. The semi-finals are destined to be a tight, tight game, not a one-sided elimination match, also involving teams from underdogs. However, Finn Allen’s unbeaten 33-ball century not only achieved all this but also helped New Zealand beat South Africa into the T20 World Cup final. Knock on the Door was a highlight reel that would be played a few years later.
Back home, many New Zealanders will be watching this with heavy eyelids. However, there was no chance for the Allen family in Auckland to sleep as their son went all out to make a strong South African attack look underwhelming. “I’m sure my parents watched the whole game. Hopefully they were proud,” Allen said with a smile after the game.
These numbers will stand out for years to come as they must: Reach 100* in 33 balls, the fastest century in a Men’s T20 World Cup match, have 10 fours and eight sixes and 88 boundaries. This arithmetic looks like a typographical error until you remember you’ve seen it with your own eyes.
What’s truly shocking isn’t just Finn’s scoring rate, but the ease with which he makes quality bowling dispensable. Before the South African team’s plan could take shape, they were knocked back to the stands. One moment, the chase seems like a race, and the next, Allen is picking his spots, trusting his swing, and expanding the boundaries of what’s possible.
It wasn’t even a one-man ambush on the first pitch. Tim Seifert was the first to throw the punch, running ahead as Allen warmed to the night. Allen’s “switch” flipped on late in the power play, a homer became the ignition and the mood in the stadium changed. What remains is the shock of clarity and greater suspicion. “Timmy and I, we didn’t really have a plan. We were just trying to stay positive and hope for the best,” he said.
Allen’s route here wasn’t a straight line. He didn’t make an immediate splash upon his debut in 2021, but evidence has been piling up over the last year that that’s what he’s doing when he hits the ball. In Major League Cricket, he smashed the format with a score of 151 and hit a world record 19 sixes, but a foot injury interrupted his surge.
This return, however, is strong. In the Big Bash League, he was a key figure in the Perth Scorchers’ title-winning run: 466 runs and a match-record 38 sixes – a preview of the season he would later cause havoc at Eden Gardens.
No wonder Kolkata Knight Riders moved quickly to snap him up for Rs 2 crore in the IPL auction – a signing that is already looking a steal among power batsmen this summer. As with all the previous blows, Allen was careful not to take them personally. He pointed out that New Zealand’s bowlers set the tone, especially in the powerplay, and refused to allow South Africa’s muscle to settle.
“The bowlers set the tone for us with early wickets and we thought it was going to be a really good batting wicket. They (South Africa) have an unbelievably strong batting line-up and hats off to the boys with the ball,” he said.
He also stressed the value of lessons learned against the same opponents in the group stage – the kind of detail that gets lost once an innings like this dominates the story. “We watched the first game against them carefully,” he said. “Playing against them earlier gave us some insight into their plans and we tried to use that to our advantage,” he revealed.
Allen said even the toss was important – and Team New Zealand ensured that first small victory would not go to waste. “We were just hoping (Mitch) Santner would win a toss, and he did. So that was the first part of getting it done. From then on, it was just, take the bull by the horns. Take the game and don’t shy away from any challenge,” he explained.
Talking about his team’s chances in the final, Allen said: “It’s a new opponent, in different conditions. We just want to take the positives from this game and then fly to Ahmedabad and start over. I think if we play our best cricket, we can beat anyone.”
Score: New Zealand defeated South Africa 169/8 (Jansen 55*; McConchie 2-9, Ravindra 2-29, Henry 2-34) by 9 wickets in 12.5 overs at 173/1 (Allen 100*, Seifert 58; Rabada 1-28).