Kolkata, March 3 – New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has dismissed the underdog tag, stating that both teams are “in the same boat” as the Black Caps prepare to face undefeated South Africa for a spot in the T20 World Cup final.
South Africa has been the most complete team in this edition of the tournament. After being stretched to two Super Overs by Afghanistan earlier in the competition, the Proteas have won seven consecutive matches, including a group-stage victory over New Zealand in Ahmedabad, to qualify for the last four as the only unbeaten team.
New Zealand’s journey has been turbulent, with a washout against Pakistan in the Super Eights and a defeat to England leaving them with little margin for error, and their qualification ultimately hinged on their net run rate.
“South Africa is a very good team, and I think we’re in the same situation,” Santner said on the eve of the semifinal at Eden Gardens.
“It’s one game, and whoever performs best will win. India and England will also be competing in the other semifinal on Thursday.”
New Zealand’s only ICC titles are the World Test Championship crown and the 2000 Champions Trophy triumph, but their consistency at global events is noteworthy.
This is their fourth T20 World Cup semifinal appearance – after 2007, 2016, and 2022 – and they have twice finished as runners-up in the ODI World Cups (2015 and 2019).
Santner acknowledged that his team is familiar with being considered underdogs.
“We’re used to that. It doesn’t matter whether you’re seen as the underdogs or not. Everyone wants to get to the stage, and we’re here now, and we’re confident we can adapt quickly.”
“At this stage, it’s just about who performs best on the day,” he added.
The left-arm spinner emphasized that controlling South Africa’s explosive batting would be central to their strategy.
“There’s no hiding from South Africa’s strength. They know what we’re going to do, and we know what they’re going to do. It all comes down to execution on the field.”
“But restricting them to 180 would be a good target, rather than 220. We’ll see how it goes.”
South Africa also carries emotional baggage from past ICC events, including semifinal exits and a runners-up finish in the 2024 edition. Santner further stated that both teams understand what is at stake.
“South Africa has been in and around this stage for a long time. We know the heartbreak they experienced two years ago.”
“They’ve been playing some excellent cricket, and they are the only unbeaten team. We’ve also been playing well.”
“It’s whoever performs best tomorrow. We know South Africa is a threat.”
“We’re going to try to put pressure on them at different stages of the game, and they’ll do the same for us.”
New Zealand’s semifinal hopes were far from certain after their loss to England, with qualification dependent on the Sri Lanka-Pakistan result.
The Black Caps eventually made it to the semifinals as Sri Lanka won their last match and Pakistan were knocked out.
“The conditions in the venues we played in – Chennai and Ahmedabad – were different, and then Colombo was very different,” Santner pointed out.
“There are fine margins at the end of the day separating teams, especially in a competition like this. You just want to get through the next stage, whether it’s the first stage, the Super Eights, or now the semifinals. It’s one game, and you can potentially move on. We’re here now, which is ideal. But again, we have a challenge tomorrow – a very good team.”
On the conditions in Kolkata, Santner expects a balanced surface but stressed the importance of execution.
“It’s a pretty flat wicket. There’s still a role to play for both spinners and seamers, and the ground dimensions also play a significant role. I think, at this time of year, it’s probably not as dew-affected.”
“There was a little bit of dew in the second innings. But I think, whatever you do first, you do it well, and you put yourself in a good position.”
The New Zealand captain also looked forward to the atmosphere.
“Obviously, the fans are one of the reasons why we play the game. And you know, they come out in huge numbers to watch in India, and it will be exciting tomorrow night.”
“So yeah, the boys are excited for that. Some of them are playing in their first World Cup semifinal, and it’s a great opportunity.”
