Kolkata, March 4 New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said he was delighted with his team’s dominant display in the Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa, describing the nine-wicket win as a “pretty pleasing” performance in a high-pressure contest.
Finn Allen smashed the fastest ever score in the tournament’s history, off just 33 balls, as New Zealand completed the chase of 170 with 43 balls to spare and secured their place in the final, to be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
"It was nice. I think we knew how good South Africa were, and they’ve shown that throughout the tournament. So, to put on a performance like that in a crucial game is obviously pretty pleasing. I guess every time you’re up against a strong opponent, or you lose a game, you learn from it. And you also learn when you win.
“So, we knew we weren’t at our best during that game (in the league stage in Ahmedabad), and they played incredibly well, especially on a wicket like that. I guess the lesson today was to keep them under pressure for a long time.
“We obviously bowled more spin at the start, which we didn’t do in Ahmedabad. But I think, if you can take wickets throughout, it’s obviously a challenge to keep the batsmen going,” said Santner in the post-match presentation ceremony.
New Zealand restricted South Africa to 169/8, with Cole McConchie and Rachin Ravindra taking two wickets each. “There was always a plan for the first two overs, and then it kind of fell apart after that. I think with the right-handers coming out, there was a lot of spin. We thought maybe if the ball was spinning away more, it would be a bit more challenging, but even when it’s up in the slot, it’s still difficult to hit.
“So, it was trying to keep them under pressure because the wicket was pretty good. Obviously, a small ground with a fast outfield. So, we were able to take wickets through the middle, and then Stubbs and Jansen played a great innings to get them to 170.”
Asked about his feelings watching the chase from the dugout, Santner said, “It was nice to watch (the chase). I’m not going to lie. I think we were very happy with the 170, but you never know. With the powerplay, there’s always a challenge, and they (the openers) just went out there and played their game and took it on, which was great to see.
“That opening partnership you get through a powerplay puts you in a good position. Then Finny (Allen) just carried on, and 33 balls for 100 is not bad at all. It would be nice if we could (repeat this in the final). But again, it’s a different ground. We’ve been there before, obviously. I think depending on where you are, it’s red soil or black soil – there are a lot of different factors that go in, different sized grounds.
“So, I think we’ll obviously be pretty happy tonight with the win. Then we have a couple more days to really think about what happens next. But it was a pretty good performance. I said before, we haven’t really played the perfect game. I know that’s always a cliché, but we’ve been good in periods, and I think today we were pretty good all the way through,” he concluded.
