Ahead of the South Africa vs New Zealand Semifinal, during the pre-match press conference, captain Aiden Markram looked confident. He should be confident as the team has performed well to qualify for the semis of the T20 World Cup 2026.
Since taking u-turn from retirement, keeper-batter Quinton de Kock appeared as a driving force on top of the batting order. The Proteas expected another explosive innings from his blade
Quinton de Kock’s batting stats vs New Zealand worsen
Cole McConchie helped the New Zealand cricket team to dismiss the dangerous opener early in the match. Quinton de Kock was dismissed for only 10 runs, smashing one 4 and one 6, facing 8 deliveries at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.
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Against New Zealand, the top order batters’ batting stats are actually poor. According to ESPNcricinfo, the left-handed batter’s batting average against the Kiwis is only 12.80 after scoring a total of 64 runs in 7 matches and 7 innings. An unbeaten innings of 28 from 23 is his highest score against New Zealand.
The batter showed a decent performance ahead of the semi-finals. Before dismissing for a duck against Zimbabwe in the Super 8 stage, he smashed 47 runs against the West Indies for a winning effort. In the group stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup against Afghanistan, the southpaw bagged a half-century to make his case strong.
Quinton de Kock runs in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026:
vs New Zealand: 10 runs
vs Zimbabwe: 0
vs West Indies: 47 runs
vs India: 6 runs
vs New Zealand: 20 runs
vs Afghanistan: 59 runs
vs Canada: 25 runs
Quinton de Kock vs New Zealand in the T20 World Cup 2026
In the Group stage, New Zealand and South Africa locked horns on February 14 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. In that match, the 33-year-old was able to score only. Though, the cheap dismissal did not spoil the team’s unbeaten run. Chasing 176, the Proteas chased down the target successfully 7 wickets and with 17 balls remaining.
From 2012 to 2026, Quinton faced New Zealand in the T20 Internationals on 7 occasions. In these seven games, the batter lost his scalp for caught outs, and remained not out in two cases.
Quinton de Kock was dismissed on the fourth delivery of the second over of the first innings. In a brilliant move, New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner introduced the off-spinner early in the match. The move proved effective only after 3 balls. On the fourth delivery, the spinner got his man.
The bowler kept the light of the delivery a little bit shorter, and the line was on middle and leg. The batter felt for the tap as he went to thrash the luring delivery with a speedy bat swing. After hitting the deck, the ball skidded into the batter, leaving de Kock craving for some room.
Using all of his experience, the Protean could have improvised his execution, but he chose to stick to his original plans to hit it over the infield again.
Because of the mistiming, the ball flew towards the mid on, where Lockie Ferguson was waiting for the moment. Ferguson, without making any silly mistakes, grabbed the ball perfectly at the edge of the ring. South Africa lost their first man only for 12 runs on the board, and the batter went for an individual 10 runs.
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