Former South African great Faf du Plessis and great Indian spinner Anil Kumble have announced the winners of the South Africa vs New Zealand contest. The rapid-fire round also takes into account several important aspects of the first semi-final at the Eden Gardens.
South Africa topped Group 1 of the Super 8s, while New Zealand finished second in Group 2. Hence the first semi-final will be a prestigious clash between the titans, South Africa vs New Zealand at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata.
Faf du Plessis and Anil Kumble have predicted that South Africa will be favorites in the South Africa vs New Zealand match.
The South Africa vs New Zealand semi-final will mark the beginning of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 knockouts. Both teams are in good form; However, South Africa have entered the semi-finals completely undefeated in this World Cup.
They were possibly placed in one of the most challenging groups along with New Zealand and Afghanistan. However, South Africa maintained their winning streak and did not lose against the defending champions, India or the in-form West Indies, even in the Super-8 stage.
In contrast, New Zealand have lost two games on their way to the semi-finals, one against South Africa in the group stage and the other against England in the Super-8. Given their good form, the question facing both greats was whether South Africa could be considered clear favourites.
We all know who Faf du Plessis will support; However, Kumble also looked very confident and immediately raised his paddle in favor of the Proteas and declared them absolute favourites.
We know who Faf du Plessis is supporting in the first semi-final, but what does Anil Kumble think? pic.twitter.com/gjKCb1hsHk
– ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) 3 March 2026
“Mitchell Santner must acquit himself early against Aiden Markram” – Faf and Kumble agree on special Markram hunt-down strategy
A question in the rapid-fire round cited the importance of South African backup spinner George Linde against New Zealand, as the English spinners had stifled the flow of runs in the previous game. Both experts immediately disagreed, which was evident from the change in conditions between the Premadasa Stadium and the Eden Gardens.
However, both agreed that unlike other teams, New Zealand needed to rely on their fast bowlers, especially Lockie Ferguson, during the death overs. Santner’s wrong decision to hand the 18th over to Glenn Phillips cost New Zealand the match and if Pakistan had won by the required margin against Sri Lanka, they could have been out of the semi-finals.
The highlight of the rapid-fire South Africa vs New Zealand encounter remained two experts agreeing on the matchup between the two captains, Mitchell Santner and Aiden Markram. Markram has been the star of brilliant starts for South Africa and can be difficult to handle spin early on, as was seen against Sikandar Raza the previous day.
Anil Kumble said, “Glenn Phillips is unstoppable.”
Talking about playing factors, he did not agree with the fact that Marco Jensen can make a huge impact with his powerplay spells; However, he cited that his contribution would be significant. From Kagiso Rabada and Corbyn Bosch to Lungi Ngidi, who has been on fire, South Africa have been in excellent form with all their fast bowlers.
A plan to trouble Dewald Brevis with short balls early in his innings could prove useful, as experts Faf du Plessis and Anil Kumble have agreed. However, the fall of Brevis’ wicket will not be a problem as he is followed by David Miller and Tristan Stubbs in the middle order.
However, talking about Glenn Phillips, who is clearly strong against pace, two experts said that considering the way he has batted well against spin, targeting him with spin also would not make much sense.
Also read: Will Abhishek Sharma be out of IND vs ENG semi-finals? Ravi Shastri, Ricky Ponting gave a cruel verdict
