A calm and clinical Finn Allen said his only focus was contributing to the team after smashing an unbeaten 33-ball 100 to power New Zealand national cricket team into the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with a crushing nine-wicket win over South Africa on Wednesday.

Allen, named Player of the Match, said New Zealand were clear about their aggressive intent from the outset, and batting alongside Tim Seifert made his job easier. The duo put together a blistering 117-run opening stand off just 55 balls to effectively seal the contest inside the powerplay.

“I just tried to get into good positions and perform for the team,” Allen said. “We wanted to start strongly and put them under pressure early. It’s easy for me when Timmy is going like that — I can just watch and rotate the strike. He batted on a flyer. It’s a huge win for us.”

Allen also highlighted preparation as the key to adapting quickly to conditions.

“You adapt to the surface. Training is really important to understand how the wicket will play. We knew it would be black soil and had that information beforehand. It shows how valuable that lead-up series was before the World Cup,” he added.

Despite the emphatic victory, Allen quickly turned his attention to the final in Ahmedabad, where New Zealand will face the winner of the semi-final between India national cricket team and England cricket team.

“You celebrate a little and take the positives, but there’s a final on Sunday to look forward to.”

Captain Mitchell Santner described the performance as one of the team’s most complete displays of the tournament.

“When you consider how strong South Africa are, to deliver like that in a crunch game is very pleasing. Earlier in the tournament, we were good in patches. Today, we were good throughout,” Santner said.

He revealed there was clarity in their tactical approach, including the use of spin during the powerplay.

“There was a clear plan early on, and then it became about applying pressure. When Brevis came in, we knew he enjoys facing spin, but we felt turning it away from him was the better option.”

Although South Africa’s 170 appeared competitive at the innings break, Santner admitted his openers made the chase one-sided.

“In T20 cricket, wickets in the powerplay can change the game. But they took it on brilliantly. And Finny just kept going, a 33-ball hundred isn’t bad,” he quipped.

Looking ahead to the final, Santner remained cautious about differing conditions.

“It’s a different ground next time, red soil, black soil, lots of variables. I wouldn’t call it perfect, but we were very good all the way through.”

A disappointed Aiden Markram admitted Allen’s extraordinary knock left his side with little room to recover.

“They bowled really well at the start. Credit to their attack. And when someone plays an innings like that, you’re rarely on the right side of it,” Markram said.

He felt South Africa may have needed more runs on what appeared a strong batting surface.

“To get to 170 was a strong effort. But perhaps if we had found a way to push towards 190, we would’ve been in the contest. They flew out of the blocks in the powerplay. Massive credit to Allen and Seifert for ending the game as early as they did.”

Despite the heartbreak, Markram expressed pride in his team’s campaign.

“We’re obviously disappointed, but I’m incredibly proud of this group. We’ll let the emotions settle and then reflect together. It hurts, but we’ll aim to come back stronger and improve as a unit.”