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Running It Straight is back!Blazing Allen century blasts Blackcaps into T20 World Cup final
Ian Chadband, AAP • March 5th, 2026 6:00 am
New Zealand's Finn Allen roars with delight after his century took them to the T20 World Cup final | Photo: AP
Finn Allen has uncorked one of the great knocks in the history of white-ball cricket to power New Zealand into the T20 World Cup final and in sight of their long-awaited first men's global crown.
After restricting unbeaten South Africa to a manageable 169/8 in their semi-final, the Blackcaps motored to a nine-wicket victory off the back of a remarkable unbeaten century off just 33 balls from Allen - the quickest ton in the tournament's history - at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.
Allen, one of the hardest-hitting batters in the white-ball game who helped drive the Perth Scorchers to the BBL title, was simply unstoppable as he blasted 10 fours and eight sixes while the Black Caps raced into their fourth limited-overs World Cup final on Wednesday (Thursday NZ time).
Though New Zealand won the inaugural World Test crown in 2021, they've previously had no luck in global white-ball finals, losing the 2015 and 2019 50-over showdowns and also the 2021 T20 final.
But they demonstrated once again just how well-equipped they are to finally break their duck as Allen and his opening partner Tim Seifert (58 off 33) led from the front with a dazzling 117-run opening partnership to set up New Zealand's win with 43 balls to spare as they roared to 173/1 with almost contemptuous ease.
With 21 needed, the 26-year-old Allen decided it was time to take down Marco Jansen, hitting the quick-bowling allrounder for 4, 4, 6, 6 and one final glorious thumped off-driven four to reach three figures with the winning blow.
His masterclass came after the Kiwis never allowed the Proteas' much-vaunted batting line-up to really get going, with five of their bowlers chipping in with wickets at key moments before Jansen's unbeaten 55 off 30 balls at least gave South Africa a decent total to defend.
In Sunday's final, Mitch Santner's well-drilled outfit will play either England or hosts India, who meet in the second semi-final at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Thursday (Friday NZT).
Stephen Fleming on the NZ20 decision delay | Mornings w/Ric & Chappy
