Kiwis storm into T20 World Cup final with South Africa thrashing
New Zealand stormed into the men’s T20 World Cup final with a crushing nine-wicket victory over South Africa in the semifinal at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, prompting Proteas coach Shukri Conrad to label the defeat a “bloody walloping”.
The Kiwis are now 2.50 to win the World Cup with cricket betting sites, still behind India (1.90) who must negotiate past England on Thursday to enter final, against a red-hot New Zealand team.
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South Africa entered the match as the tournament’s only unbeaten side, having already defeated the Black Caps earlier in the group stage. But New Zealand flipped the script in emphatic fashion, chasing down a target of 170 with more than seven overs remaining.
Opener Finn Allen produced a sensational unbeaten 33-ball century, anchoring the run chase after he and Tim Seifert laid the platform with a commanding 117-run opening partnership. Seifert struck 58 before departing, leaving Allen to finish the job in dominant fashion.
Conrad said his team never looked in the contest after being restricted to 8-169.
“In order for you to choke, you must have had a sniff in the game. We didn’t have a sniff,” he said, praising New Zealand’s spinners for squeezing South Africa’s normally explosive batting line-up.
New Zealand will now face the winner of the second semifinal between India and England in the final, scheduled for Monday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. India is a short-priced favourite with international betting sites to defeat England.
