Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: South Africa will face New Zealand in the first semi-final of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at Eden Gardens on Wednesday.
South Africa, the only unbeaten side left in the tournament, will enter the contest as firm favourites. They have looked increasingly dominant as the competition progressed. Their only real scare came early in the group stage, when Afghanistan pushed them to two Super Overs before eventually going down.
The Proteas began the Super Eight stage with a commanding 76-run victory over India. They crushed West Indies by nine wickets in the second match before securing a composed five-wicket win over Zimbabwe to seal their passage to the semi-final in style.
New Zealand’s route to the last four, however, has been far less straightforward. They advanced from the group stage as runners-up behind South Africa. In the Super Eight stage, their opening fixture against Pakistan was washed out due to rain. They secured a 61-run victory over Sri Lanka but suffered a four-wicket defeat to England in their final Super Eight.
A heavy Pakistan win over Sri Lanka in the Super Eight stage would have eliminated them. However, they edged past Pakistan on net run rate to secure their semi-final berth.
The Proteas hold a perfect record against New Zealand in T20 World Cup meetings. They have won all five encounters against the Black Caps. winning all five previous encounters. The most recent win came in the group stage of this tournament, where South Africa secured a comfortable seven-wicket victory.
With both sides chasing their maiden T20 World Cup trophy, neither side can afford to lose the encounter at Eden Gardens.
New Zealand Squad:
Mitchell Santner (C), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Kyle Jamieson, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ben Sears (reserve).
South Africa Squad:
Aiden Markram (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Quinton de Kock, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs
