Kolkata, March 3 (IANS) Unbeaten South Africa will face New Zealand in the first semi-final of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 to be played at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
The Proteas are coming to the contest after a great run in the Super 8s stage, where they first beat the defending champions India by 76 runs. Aiden Markram-led team secured their second win by beating the two-time champions, West Indies, by nine wickets. They ended the Super 8s campaign with a close win against Zimbabwe.
On the other hand, New Zealand had a mixed Super 8s campaign, with their first encounter against Pakistan getting washed out. The team performed well in their next match against Sri Lanka and registered a dominant 61-run win. The Mitchell Santner-led side suffered a close defeat against England in their last match. Despite getting 3 points, they moved to the next round with a good net run rate (NRR).
This will be the sixth time both teams will meet each other in the T20 World Cup. South Africa have a dominant record against New Zealand as the Blackcaps have never beaten South Africa in the World Cup.
They met for the first time in the 2007 World Cup quarter-finals, where the hosts South Africa won by 6 wickets.
Their second encounter proved to be a thriller in which South Africa won by just one run in the T20 World Cup 2009.
South Africa and New Zealand met again in the 2010 World Cup, where the Proteas won by 13 runs in Birmingham.
The Blackcaps suffered their fourth defeat against South Africa in the World Cup in 2014 when they lost by just two runs.
The most recent meeting between the two teams happened in the group stage of the ongoing World Cup, where the Aiden Markram-led team won by 7 wickets in Ahmedabad.
–IANS
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