South Africa was a strong favorite to win over New Zealand in the first semi-final match of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. In fact, the New Zealand cricket team not only won but also entered the final by defeating the Proteas.
After the match, Aiden Markram, for the first time in the tournament, attended the post-match presentation ceremony as the captain of the losing team. He did not hold any of his players responsible for this heartbreaking defeat but instead talked about the pitch the most.
The captain of the losing team blamed the pitch
Aiden Markram claimed that the pitch at Eden Gardens, Kolkata was not ideal for fast batting in the first innings of the match. The bounce was uneven and the ball also came in slow on a few occasions, as experienced by the South African captain.
After losing the toss and opting to bat first, South Africa scored 169 runs for 8 wickets in 20 overs. Markram credited the New Zealand bowlers for their tremendous efforts throughout the innings. The captain believes that he did a good job with the bat and the target of 170 runs was not that bad on such a pitch.
So give credit to their bowling unit- Aiden Markram
“I think you look at the opening conditions and they bowled really well from the front. The ball just didn’t feel like coming, some were just staying on the wicket and some were hitting quite low on the bat and they made scoring really difficult, and through that the pressure builds and you lose wickets unfortunately”, South Africa captain Aiden Markram described his moments with the bat.
“So give credit to their bowling unit and obviously with the bat, someone playing an innings like this, don’t think that as a fielding team you will be on the right side of the result many times. Getting to 170 was a great effort in all fairness,” he said.
Aiden Markram praised New Zealand opener Finn Allen
In the World Cup semi-finals, New Zealand defeated the Proteas by 9 runs and won by a huge margin. Finn Allen was the brightest star of the night. The Kiwi opener remained unbeaten after scoring 100 runs in 33 balls, hitting ten fours and eight sixes. The other opener, Tim Seifert, scored 58 runs off 33 balls. Kagiso Rabada was the bowler who took the one lost wicket of the Kiwi team.
“And, I think, that opening partnership that you get through the power play, no doubt, it puts you in a very good position. And then obviously, Feeney (Allen) just stepped up and, I mean, 33 balls for 100, that’s not bad. Not bad at all”, Aiden Markram admitted.
In the semi-finals, New Zealand defeated South Africa in all departments of the match. They entered the field with good homework and also executed it. In the summit clash, the Kiwi team will face Team India or England.
Read more: Record breaking massacre! Thanks to Finn Allen’s stormy century, New Zealand defeated South Africa by 9 wickets.
