All posts tagged: New Zealand vs South Africa T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal

No mystery but spin trio the unlikely heroes for New Zealand with street-smart practical wisdom

No mystery but spin trio the unlikely heroes for New Zealand with street-smart practical wisdom

Quartets, trifectas and pairs in cricket walk with an aura. But New Zealand’s trio of Cole McConchie, Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra trudge without a halo. They have been the most modest, yet most prolific, spin firm in the tournament, firing New Zealand’s unrealistic dream. Between them, they have snared 15 wickets and conceded just 7.22 runs an over, without wielding any mystique or mystery; just plain practical wisdom practised to perfection. Opposition batsmen would not lose sleep over any of them; neither would they spend countless hours dissecting their wrist positions and releases; they would not make frantic calls to friends or teammates who had played them. They are the staple spinners they would have encountered a thousand times. But yet, they could not conquer them. The combined figures of the three on Wednesday read 9-0-54-4. A run a ball; four wickets. Job well done. None would remember the spells, but teammates would vouch for their impact. When Rachin boarded the flight to India, he would not have anticipated in his wildest dreams that …

Mitchell Santner backs underdogs New Zealand to cross South Africa hurdle

Mitchell Santner backs underdogs New Zealand to cross South Africa hurdle

5 min readKolkataMar 3, 2026 08:58 PM IST New Zealand are more often than not considered the dark horses whenever an ICC tournament comes around but more often than not the Black Caps almost always spring a surprise. Earlier, their semifinal opponents South Africa were kept in the same bracket but in recent years, the Proteas have morphed into a true cricketing power—winning the World Test Championship in 2025 while coming mighty close to defeating India in the 2024 T20 World Cup final but ultimately falling short. In the this edition of the T20 World Cup, however, the Aiden Markram-led side have been a force to be reckoned with, snapping India’s unbeaten streak in the Super 8s and then entering the semifinals against the Kiwis as the only unbeaten side in the tournament. In contrast, the Mitchell Santner-led side stuttered their way into the last 4, edging through in the last second after Pakistan failed to get over the line against Sri Lanka on net run-rate. ALSO READ | South Africa vs New Zealand: Captaincy, all-round …