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New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has expressed confidence ahead of the semi-final clash against South Africa on March 4 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in the T20 World Cup 2026. The Kiwis are set to face the only unbeaten side in the tournament.
The two teams met earlier in the competition around two weeks ago, where the contest began evenly. However, New Zealand gradually lost momentum as South Africa pulled ahead to secure victory. Historically as well, South Africa have enjoyed greater success over New Zealand in T20Is. That said, knockout cricket presents a different challenge altogether. New Zealand have a strong record against South Africa in ICC knockout matches, holding a 3-0 advantage in such encounters in 50-over format.
“I guess watching the Pakistan-Sri Lanka game was a pretty tough watch, pretty nervy at times. I had a few other boys in my room and I had to leave because it was pretty tough. South Africa has a lot of power. I think the powerplay for us with the ball was where they really got away to a flyer. We haven’t played the perfect game throughout this tournament. And I guess that’s a good thing for us. If we can put it all together, it’ll put us in a pretty good position,” said Santner as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“I think for us, it’s… everyone’s goal throughout the tournament is to get to this stage. We’re here now and we back ourselves on one-off games against most teams… being able to adapt as quickly as we can to what’s in front of us. South Africa looks like a very good outfit, as they’ve shown. And I guess they’re in the same boat as us now. It’s one game in here until the final,” he added.
New Zealand’s bowling unit is set to face one of its toughest challenges of the tournament against the fastest-scoring side in this T20 World Cup. There is also uncertainty surrounding the pitch and conditions at Eden Gardens. Santner mentioned that the surface appeared flat during the India vs West Indies clash, suggesting that it could favor stroke play. He also pointed out that ground dimensions could influence tactics.
“We know if you can get into that top order, but their middle order packs a lot of power as well. So it might not be trying to bowl them [out]. It might be trying to get in-and-out of overs and then… trying to… it might be that 180 is a good score instead of 220,” said Santner.
“We were looking at the wicket the other night [in the India-West Indies game] and it was pretty flat. I think there’s still a role to play for the spinners. Also [the] seamers. And I think the ground dimensions as well play a massive part in conditions. I mean, [in] Sri Lanka, we had a big side for both those games. We [the bowlers] can try and get it to that [bigger] side, whereas it’s [the boundaries] a little bit smaller here [at Eden Gardens], but [the pitch is] more central. So, again, it’s adapting on the fly,” he added.
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