New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner (left) and South Africa captain Aiden Markram (proper) shake fingers after the toss for the ICC Males’s T20 World Cup 2026’s semi-final at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on March 4, 2026. — AFP
After profitable the toss, New Zealand opted to discipline first towards South Africa within the first semi-final of the ICC Males’s T20 World Cup 2026 on the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Enjoying XI
New Zealand: Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mark Chapman, Mitchell Santner (capt), James Neesham, Cole McConchie, Matt Henry, and Lockie Ferguson
South Africa: Aiden Markram (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, and Lungi Ngidi
Head-to-head
South Africa and New Zealand have come face-to-face 19 occasions in T20Is, with the previous dominating the head-to-head report with 12 victories, in comparison with the Blackcaps’ seven.
In T20 World Cups, nevertheless, South Africa boast an ideal 5-0 report over New Zealand.
Matches: 19South Africa: 12New Zealand: 7Form Information
South Africa and New Zealand enter the fixture with contrasting momentum of their favour as the previous are unbeaten within the 20-team event, whereas the Blackcaps suffered defeats in each the group and Tremendous Eights stage and consequently certified for the semi-final solely attributable to a superior internet run charge than that of Pakistan.
The 2 groups additionally locked horns within the group stage, which South Africa gained convincingly by seven wickets, courtesy of Marco Jansen’s four-wicket haul and captain Aiden Markram’s unbeaten half-century.
South Africa: W, W, W, W, W (most up-to-date first)
New Zealand: L, W, NR, W, L
