'Right up there for me': Finn Allen reflects on record-breaking semifinal century against South Africa

New Zealand opener Finn Allen was all smiles after delivering one of the most destructive knocks in T20 World Cup history, guiding his side into the final with a record-breaking century against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The right-hander’s unbeaten 100 off just 33 balls, which is the fastest hundred in the tournament’s history, has completely changed the semifinal and ended the Proteas’ unbeaten run in style.

Finn Allen on recordbreaking ton

Speaking after the match, Allen reflected on his innings and the approach he took in such a high-pressure game.

“I’d say this knock is right up there for me. It was a big semifinal, and I just wanted to get myself into good positions and put in a strong performance for the team.

The plan with Tim was pretty simple. We wanted to play straight at the start and try to put them under pressure early. When Timmy is going like that, it actually makes my job easier. I can watch him take the attack on, wait for the ball in my area and then back myself to hit it. Sometimes it’s about giving him the strike and letting him flow. The way he batted gave us a real flyer, and that helped set everything up. We just focused on getting into strong positions, playing straight and working the ball off the length.”

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How Allen maintained rhythm

Allen also spoke about maintaining rhythm despite not facing every delivery during the explosive opening stand.

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“In a semifinal like this, you don’t really need extra motivation. It’s easier to stay locked in because you know what’s at stake. Timmy and I kept chatting out there, whether we were on strike or not. Just small reminders to stay balanced, watch the ball and hit it hard. We enjoyed that time in the middle together.”

How Allen adapted to the Kolkata conditions

On adapting to different surfaces, especially the black soil wicket in Kolkata, Allen credited preparation and past experience.

“You’ve got to adjust to the wicket in front of you. Training becomes really important to understand how it might play. Coming here, we had good information from the India series before this tournament, where the boys played a lot on similar black soil pitches. That intel helped us a lot, and it shows how important that preparation was heading into the World Cup.”

With New Zealand now in the final, Allen allowed himself a brief smile but quickly shifted focus to the bigger goal.

“It feels good, of course. You celebrate the small moments and take the positives from a game like this. But we’ve got a final to play on Sunday. That’s the one that really matters, so we’ll look forward to that.”

Allen’s stunning century, combined with Tim Seifert’s 58 off 33 balls in a 117-run opening stand, ensured New Zealand chased down 170 with ease. Earlier, Marco Jansen’s fighting 55 and Tristan Stubbs’ 29 had helped South Africa recover to 169/8 after slipping to 77/5, but it was never enough on a night dominated by Allen’s fearless strokeplay.