South Africa players during the first semi-final of the 2026 T20 World Cup in Kolkata. (AP photo)
New Delhi: South Africa’s dream of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup came to a halt on Wednesday evening as New Zealand handed them a crushing nine-wicket defeat in the semi-final.
Coach Shukri Konrad did not hesitate to describe what happened.Go beyond boundaries with our YouTube channel. Subscribe now!Speaking after the match, Conrad dismissed suggestions that South Africa had “suffocated” under pressure, a tag they have followed at world tournaments for decades.“I don’t know if this night was a suffocation. I thought it was a bloody clash,” Conrad said frankly. “To choke, you must have snorted in the game.
We had no sniff.
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Chasing a competitive 170, New Zealand made a mockery of the target. Opener Finn Allen produced a historic attack, smashing an unbeaten hundred off just 33 balls – the fastest century in the history of the tournament – while Tim Seifert scored a 33-ball 58. The chase was over in just 12.5 overs, leaving South Africa stunned.Conrad even dipped into his native Afrikaans to sum up the scale of the defeat.
“Tonight we got a proper ‘snotklap,’” he said. “That’s an Afrikaans word that means real hiding, a slap that you don’t expect to happen. That’s what it felt like.”Earlier, the New Zealand bowlers had set the stage. Cole McConchie scored twice in the second half, removing Quinton de Kock and Ryan Rickelton in successive deliveries. Then the spinners tightened the screws as the South African middle class – including Aiden Markram, David Miller and Dewald Previs – failed to gain momentum.A late counter-attack from Marko Janssen, who hit an unbeaten 55 off 30 balls, and Tristan Stubbs helped South Africa to 169 all out, but the total was nowhere near enough.“They smothered us at the front and we didn’t get any momentum,” Conrad admitted. “It didn’t go well tonight, but that was probably forced because they were so good.”Despite the heavy defeat, Conrad said he is still proud of his team, which entered the semi-finals as the only team in the tournament undefeated after achieving seven consecutive victories.“I think we did some exceptional things throughout the tournament,” he said. “Not many people gave us a chance to get to the semifinals when we left home. I’m so proud of these guys — even if that’s no consolation to us right now.”