Kolkata, March 4 Explosive right-handed opener Finn Allen described his record-breaking century in 33 balls as "very impressive" in terms of his best batting performances, as it propelled New Zealand to the T20 World Cup final with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over South Africa at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
Allen also shared an opening stand of 117 runs with Tim Seifert to help New Zealand chase down 170 with 43 balls to spare and secure their spot in the final to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
"I'd say it's very impressive. I just wanted to get into good positions and put in a good performance for the team. Obviously, we wanted to start strong and try to put the pressure on them early.
"I think it's easy for me when Timmy (Seifert) is going like that, I can just watch and then hit it when it's in my area and just try to give him the strike. So I think the way that he batted got us off to a great start. Like I said, we wanted to get into good positions, look straight, and work the ball off the length," said Allen in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Asked on how he maintains his rhythm in such crucial games, Allen said, "I think it's easier in the semi-final to stay focused. Obviously, it's a huge game for us. With Timmy, we say, keep each other going, whether we're on strike or not, just make sure that each other is looking straight and trying to hit the ball hard. We enjoyed playing together."
Quizzed on adapting to different conditions, Allen explained, "I think when you adapt to the wickets, training becomes really important to get a feel of how the wicket might play. When you're coming here, with the black soil, there was the India series before this, which the boys played a lot on black soil. So, we got good information from that, which shows how important that series was for us coming into this World Cup.
He concluded by saying that the Blackcaps will now focus on playing in the final. "It was a good game. You take the positives from this game, celebrate a little bit, and then, we have a final to win on Sunday, so we just look forward to that."
