Finn Allen's Record Century Leads New Zealand to T20 World Cup Final
Finn Allen's Remarkable Performance
Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar praised New Zealand's Finn Allen for his extraordinary century in the T20 World Cup semifinal, noting how he 'finished' the game before spectators had a chance to settle in. Allen made history with a stunning 33-ball century, the quickest in both T20 and 50-over World Cups, securing New Zealand's place in the final by easily chasing down a target of 170 runs at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Sachin expressed his excitement on X, stating, 'Semi-finals typically keep you on the edge of your seat. Today, Finn Allen wrapped it up before we could even get comfortable! What an incredible match!'
New Zealand's Dominant Chase
In pursuit of 170 runs, Kiwi openers Tim Seifert and Finn Allen made quick work of the target. Seifert scored 58 runs off 33 balls, while Allen finished with an unbeaten 100 runs from just 33 balls, featuring 10 fours and eight sixes. They completed the chase in a mere 12.5 overs, with Allen surpassing Chris Gayle's previous record of a 47-ball century against England in the 2016 T20 World Cup and Glenn Maxwell's 40-ball century against the Netherlands in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, marking the fastest century in World Cup history across both T20I and ODI formats.
Setting New Records
This remarkable century is the fastest ever against a Test-playing nation in T20Is and ranks as the joint-third fastest in all T20 matches. The record for the fastest T20I century belongs to Sahil Chauhan from Estonia, who scored a 27-ball century against Cyprus in 2024. Allen's achievement also ties with Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza, who scored a 33-ball century against Gambia in 2024, making it the joint-fastest T20I century by a player from a Test-playing nation. Furthermore, Allen's century surpasses Glenn Phillips' 46-ball century against the West Indies in 2020, establishing it as New Zealand's fastest T20I century.
Historic Milestones
Allen's score also eclipses the previous highest in T20 World Cup knockout matches, which was held by Sri Lankan great Tilakaratne Dilshan, who scored 96* against the West Indies in the 2009 quarterfinals. Alongside Brendon McCullum (123 against Bangladesh in 2012) and Phillips (104 against Sri Lanka in 2022), Allen becomes the third New Zealander to achieve a T20 World Cup century.
His innings included 10 fours and eight sixes, matching the record for the highest boundary count in a T20 World Cup innings, previously set by McCullum. The eight sixes hit by Allen are the most by a New Zealand player in a T20 World Cup match and the highest in a knockout game.
With a strike rate of 303.03, Allen faced only four dot balls during his innings. Among the 76 individual innings of at least 30 balls in T20 World Cup semifinals or finals, only Virat Kohli's 72 off 44 balls against South Africa in the 2014 semifinals had fewer dot balls, with just three.