Who Said What? What did Mitchell Santner, Aiden Markram & Finn Allen say after the SAvNZ game?

South Africa suffered a nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the first semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, March 4.

Delving into the details of the game, South Africa was tasked with batting first and was reeling at 77/5 in 10 overs, losing their in-form batters. Dewald Brevis (34), Tristan Stubbs (29), and Marco Jansen (55*) played crucial knocks to take them to a total of 169/8 in 20 overs.

In the chase, it was a one-way traffic as New Zealand openers Tim Seifter (58) and Finn Allen (100*) came out all guns blazing right from the first ball as they sealed the deal in 12.5 overs with nine wickets in hand to advance to the grand finale.

On that note, let’s take a look at who said what after the SAvNZ game.

Mitchell Santner | NZ skipper:

"It was nice. I think we knew obviously how good South Africa are, and they’ve shown that throughout the tournament. So, to put on a performance like that in a crunch game is obviously pretty pleasing. I guess every time, you get shown up or you lose a game, you’re learning from it. I guess you learn when you win as well. So, we knew we weren’t, on or as good as we could have been during that game (in Ahmedabad), and they played unbelievably well, especially on a wicket like that. 

I guess today it (the lesson) was trying to keep them under pressure for a long time. We obviously threw a little bit more spin at the start, which we didn’t do at Ahmedabad. But I think, if you can take wickets throughout, it’s obviously a challenge to keep going with the bat. There was always a plan for the first two overs (talking about the bowling tactics) and then it’s kind of free fall after that. I think with, uh, obviously the right-handers coming out briefly, obviously, there’s a lot of spin. Um, so we, we thought maybe if the ball was spinning away a bit more, it might be a bit more of a challenge, but, you know, I think even when it’s up in the slot, kind of hits it and it stays hit. So, yeah, it was trying to, I guess, chop and change because the wicket was pretty good. Obviously a small ground, fast outfield. 

So I think, we were able to keep chipping wickets away through the middle and then, you know, Stubbsy (Stubbs) and Jansen obviously played a great, great knock to get them into 170. Yeah, it was. It was nice to watch (the chase). I’m not gonna lie. I guess we were very happy with the 170, but you never know, I think, like wickets in the power play, there’s always a challenge, and they (the openers) kind of just went out there and played their game and took it on, which was cool to see. And, I think, that opening partnership you get through a powerplay, no doubt, it puts you in a pretty good position. 

And then obviously, Finny (Allen) just carried on and, I mean, 33 balls for 100, it’s not bad. Not bad at all. It’d be nice if we could (repeat this in the final). But again, it’s a different ground. We’ve been there before, obviously. I think depending on where you are, it’s red soil, black soil. You know, so there’s a lot of different factors that go in, different sized grounds. So I think we’ll obviously be pretty happy tonight with the win. Then we’ve got a couple more days to, you know, really think about what happens next. But, yeah, it was a pretty good performance. I said before, we haven’t really played the perfect game. I know that’s always a hard or cliche thing, but, you know, we’ve been good in periods and then today I think we were pretty good all the way through.”

Aiden Markram | SA skipper: 

"I think you look at conditions early and they bowled really well up front. Ball didn't quite feel like coming on, some were just stopping on the wicket and some where hitting quite low on the bat and they made scoring really tough and through that pressure builds and you lose wickets unfortunately. So give credit to their bowling unit and obviously with the bat, someone plays an innings like that, don't think you will come out on the right side of the result many times as a fielding team. To get to 170 was a great effort to be fair. 

At the halfway point we really felt like we had a sniff, but then, as it goes in T20 cricket.. (in) the powerplay (they) got off to a flyer and can't protect every boundary unfortunately, and yeah they got away and then from there it was really hard to pull it back. So we give massive credit to Finn Allen's knock, Tim Seifert's knock to kill the game as early as they did, and yeah unfortunately, it was just that bad night for us tonight. (What they could have done differently tonight?) It's hard to say right now. 

We'll reflect as the group. I think we expected the wicket to play really well. It looked pretty good to the eye, so potentially just adapt a bit quicker with the bats and go back to maybe a bit more old school approach, set it up and try to scrape your way to 190, and maybe you'll be in the game from there. So yeah, we'll reflect as a group. Obviously disappointed with the result, but very proud of this group of guys who have played some really good cricket throughout this comp, and it's just an unfortunate evening really. 

(What do you say to the group having done so well and stumbled again) Yeah, I think you let the emotions settle first and foremost. Once they have, we'll have a discussion as a group and all you do is you break down the game and try and find the areas that could have been better. Get back on the horse and you try and improve as a group and as individuals, and hopefully that puts you in good stead for the future. So yeah, again, hugely disappointed. It's a big... not a slap in the face, but it feels like it. But because of that, ultimately, we will have to come out stronger and be better as a team moving forward."

Finn Allen | PoTM: 

(Is this the best you have ever put out?) Yeah, I’d say it’s pretty up there. Yeah, just wanted to get into good positions and put a good performance in for the team. (On the planning with his opening partner) Obviously, we wanted to start looking straight and obviously try and put them on the back foot early. 

I think it’s easy for me when Timmy’s (Seifert) going like that, I can kind of just watch and then hit it when it’s in my area and just try and give him the strike. So I think the way that he batted got us off to an absolute flyer. And yeah, I think like I said, we wanted to get strong positions, look straight and work the ball square off the length. (How do you keep the rhythm when you are getting as much strike) I think it’s easier in the semifinal to stay up for the fight. Obviously, huge game for us. And I think, with Timmy, we say, keep each other in it, whether we’re on strike or not, just keep ensuring that each other’s looking straight, looking to hit the ball hard. And yeah, we enjoyed out there together. 

(What changes do you make for different conditions) Yeah, I think you adapt to the wickets. I think training is really important to get a feel of what the wicket might play like. And when you’re coming here, black soil, there was that India series before this, which the boys played a lot on black soil. So good intel from that. And I think that shows how important that series was for us coming into this World Cup. 

(You are in a final! )Yeah, it was good (smiles). (How much do you celebrate and can you replicate?) Oh yeah, I think you take the positives from this game for sure, celebrate a little moment of success. And then, we’ve got a final to win on Sunday, so we just look forward to that..

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