Stats: New Zealand register first win against South Africa in T20 World Cups

The first semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2026 between South Africa and New Zealand had the weight of history stacked against the Kiwis as the BlackCaps had lost all of their previous five encounters against the Proteas in the T20 World Cups. However, the stars finally aligned for New Zealand on the evening of March 4 in Kolkata as they overhauled South Africa's competitive-looking 170-run target with utmost ease, thus registering their first-ever win against the Men in Green in the 20-over global competition.

The Kiwis were on fire right from the start as they wiped out most of the batting threat by the 10th over. Valuable contributions from Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, and Marco Jansen took them to a fighting total but Tim Seifert and Finn Allen launched an offensive which blew away the famed Proteas bowling attack. Allen, in particular, scored the fastest hundred (33 balls) in T20 World Cup history and New Zealand romped home by nine wickets and 43 balls remaining.

With the win, they have made it to the final to be held on Sunday, March 8 with their opponents either being India or England.

What happened in the previous five matches that New Zealand lost to South Africa in T20 WCs? 

The teams first met each other in the inaugural 2007 edition in the group stage in Durban. Batting first, New Zealand posted an in-between target of 154 on the back of Craig McMillan's 48* off 25 balls. The Proteas were made to work hard as the pacers tied down the top order. But, Justin Kemp's 89* off 56 balls took them over the line in the final over with six wickets in hand.

The second meeting came about in the 2009 edition at Lord's in the group stage as well. It was a low-scoring encounter as South Africa could only manage 128 in their 20 overs. New Zealand, despite a good batting performance, failed to get over the line by just one run as Jacob Oram was run out off the last ball.

The sides were grouped together once again in the 2010 edition and clashed at the Kensington Oval, Barbados. Batting first, South Africa put on 170 runs in the first innings with Albie Morkel playing a blinder, 40 off 18 balls. The Kiwis, in response, lost wickets at regular intervals and lacked the necessary momentum and push to overhaul the target, eventually falling short by 13 runs.

When the teams met for the fourth time in the 2014 edition in Chattogram it was another thriller. The group-stage game saw South Africa bat first once more and put on 170 as well mainly because of Jean-Paul Duminy's unbeaten 86 off 43 balls. The Kiwis were very much in the game thanks to Kane Williamson's 51 and Ross Taylor's 62. But, Dale Steyn proved his mettle as the pacer defended seven runs in the final over to give his team a two-run win.

The fifth encounter transpired after almost a decade in the group stage of the 2026 edition. South Africa won the toss and elected to field first with a view to utilise the possible dewy conditions at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. New Zealand were flying in the first 10 overs or so, but unfortunately for them they lost four wickets till then. Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, and James Neesham's valuable cameos, however, allowed the BlackCaps to post a 176-run target.

The South African top three rocketed their team towards the target as the Proteas found themselves at a comfortable 119/2 at the halfway mark. Markram was the leader of the pack as the right hander took his team to victory with 17 balls remaining on the back of his unbeaten 86 off 44 balls.