New Zealand have turned the page on the disappointment of the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they were unable to progress beyond the group stage, and are now gearing up for a crucial showdown in the Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The Black Caps have stormed through the tournament to set up a blockbuster semi-final against South Africa, scheduled to be played on Wednesday in Kolkata. Speaking ahead of the clash, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner expressed confidence in his team’s ability to rise to the occasion despite enduring a tough road to the semi-final. They had to face a washout against Pakistan in the Super Eights and a defeat to England, making this match highly significant.

"I think it's whether you want to call it the underdogs or not. I think for us, it's everyone's goal throughout the tournament to get to the stage. We're here now, and we back ourselves, you know, in one-off games against most teams, to be able to adapt as quickly as we can to what's in front of us. South Africa look like a very good outfit, as they have shown, and I guess they're in the same boat as us now. It's one game, and you're into a final and it's going to be the same for India and England. So I guess conditions have changed a lot for us where we've been. Chennai, Ahmedabad, Sri Lanka, and again we're in Kolkata; we haven't been there before. We'll address conditions tomorrow and see what it looks like but yeah, I think at this stage It's just a knockout game and that's it at the end of the day and whoever really turns up is it's going to get through," said Santner at the press conference.

Both the New Zealand and South Africa teams are raring to perform better, having failed to lift the title back in 2021 and 2024, respectively. 

“I guess it's you look it's probably two teams that have been in and around it for a long time. I guess we know the heartbreak of South Africa two years ago. I think again they're playing some very good cricket as they've shown throughout this tournament. The only unbeaten team. We have been playing some decent cricket as well. We know South Africa are going to be a threat as they have shown. We are going to go out there and put some pressure on them at different stages of the game," he said.

Star pacer Matt Henry may miss the semi-final after flying back to New Zealand for the birth of his child. Santner confirmed that Henry is scheduled to return to India on Tuesday, March 3, but cautioned that his participation will hinge on how he feels following the long journey.

"Matt is currently in the air; he’s landing tonight, so I guess we'll see how he pulls up – it's obviously quite far away, New Zealand from here. But he'll obviously have a little run around in the morning, see if he's ready to go. So yeah, hopefully he's good to go," Santner said.