Kolkata, March 5: New Zealand’s opening batsman Finn Allen made headlines on Wednesday with a stunning century against South Africa in the first semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. His explosive innings not only propelled New Zealand to the finals but also etched his name in the record books.
Finn Allen scored an unbeaten 100 runs off just 33 balls, hitting 10 fours and 8 sixes. With his eighth six, he became the batsman with the most sixes in a single World Cup, surpassing previous records. Allen has now hit 20 sixes in this World Cup, overtaking Shimron Hetmyer, who had 19, and Sahibzada Farhan, who managed 18.
Previously, the record for the most sixes in a World Cup was held by Nicholas Pooran, who hit 17 sixes in the 2024 edition. Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Chris Gayle both hit 16 sixes in the 2024 and 2012 World Cups, respectively.
Allen’s century is also the fastest in T20 World Cup history, breaking Chris Gayle’s record. Gayle scored a century off 47 balls against England in the 2016 T20 World Cup.
Additionally, Allen has now recorded the highest score in knockout matches of the T20 World Cup, surpassing the previous record of 96 runs set by Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan against the West Indies in the 2009 World Cup semifinal.
He becomes the third New Zealand player to score a century in the T20 World Cup, following Brendan McCullum’s 123 against Bangladesh in 2012 and Glenn Phillips’ 104 against Sri Lanka in 2022.
In the match, South Africa batted first after losing the toss, scoring 169 runs for 8 wickets. Chasing a target of 170, New Zealand achieved 173 runs for the loss of just 1 wicket in 12.5 overs, winning the match by 9 wickets. Besides Allen’s remarkable century, Tim Seifert contributed with 58 runs off 33 balls. Finn Allen was named Player of the Match.
