South Africa suffer heavy defeat to New Zealand in T20 World Cup semi-final

South Africa's campaign in the T20 World Cup came to an abrupt end after a comprehensive nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the semi-finals held in Kolkata. The South African side, which had remained unbeaten in the tournament until this stage, was overpowered as New Zealand chased down their target of 170 runs with 7.1 overs to spare.

New Zealand opener Finn Allen delivered a record-breaking performance, scoring the fastest-ever T20 World Cup century in just 33 balls. His explosive innings propelled New Zealand into the final, scheduled to take place in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

South Africa's repeated struggles in knockout matches of major tournaments have often led to them being labelled as 'chokers'. However, head coach Shukri Conrad dismissed this notion following the match. Speaking to reporters, Conrad said, “I don’t know if tonight was a choke, I thought it was a bloody walloping.” He further explained, “If you want to be choked, you might as well have had a snook in the game. Tonight we got a proper snotklap, a South African word meaning a real hiding.”

Despite the disappointing result, Conrad expressed pride in his team’s performance throughout the tournament. He noted that not many had expected South Africa to reach this stage, and he commended his players for their efforts.

With this victory, New Zealand advance to the T20 World Cup final, while South Africa exit the tournament as runners-up for 2024.