‘It’s time to celebrate but focus on Sunday’s final’: Finn Allen

new zealand find alan He produced a powerful masterclass as he led New Zealand to a nine-wicket win over South Africa in Kolkata on Wednesday to seal a berth in the final, registering the fastest century in the history of the T20 World Cup.In the first semi-final, Allen smashed an unbeaten 170 off 33 balls, breaking Chris Gayle’s previous record of 47, helping New Zealand win by 7.1 wickets.

Allen was in style, hitting four fours, two sixes and another four to seal the victory and celebrate his record century at Eden Gardens. Tim Seifert also played with 58 runs, joining Allen in a 117-run opening stand in just 9.1 overs. Seifert hit seven fours and two sixes, while Allen hit eight sixes and 10 fours, showing impressive control.“Just trying to get into good positions and perform well for the team. [The plan for the opening partnership] We want to start well and put them on the back foot early on. When Timmy does that, it’s easy for me. I could only watch him strike. He hit a flyer. A huge game for us. Timmy and I just kept making sure we faced it and moved forward,” Allen, who was named player of the match, said after the game.“[On adapting to different pitches and being aggressive] You get used to the wickets. Training is very important to get a feel for the wickets. We knew it was going to be black soil, we had intelligence. Shows the importance of this series ahead of the World Cup,” he added.New Zealand entered the semi-finals on a winning margin and will face either India or England in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday for their maiden World Cup title. “[On getting to the final] You take the positives out of the game and celebrate, but the final on Sunday is something to look forward to,” Allen said.Earlier, spinners Rachin Ravindra and Cole McConchie took two wickets each to restrict South Africa to 169-8 after New Zealand opted to bat first. The 2024 runners-up, led by Aiden Markram, were unbeaten in seven games but fell to 77-5 before Marco Jansen’s unbeaten 55 restored some respectability.Seifert’s fast bowler Lungi Ngidi hit 50 balls while Allen hit a half-century off just 19 balls. Kagiso Rabada bowled Seifert in the tenth over but that was South Africa’s only success in the chase.Earlier in the innings, McConchie struck out Quinton de Kock for 10 in the second over and removed Ryan Rickelton off the next ball, but Dewald Brevis avoided a hat-trick. Ravindra trapped Markram for 18, caught in the deep by Daryl Mitchell, and five balls later, David Miller fell for six, also falling to Ravindra and Mitchell.South Africa lost half of the over in 10.2 overs when Jimmy Neesham dismissed Brevis for 34. Tristan Stubbs contributed 29 runs before losing to Lockie Ferguson, while Jansen hit 2 fours and 5 sixes, including a six off Ferguson, to reach the 50-ball mark in his unbeaten 30-run knock.Fast bowler Matt Henry, who only returned on Tuesday night after returning home to have his baby, provided timely support to New Zealand with figures of 2-34.