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Santner Blames Power-Play Failures for NZ's T20 World Cup Defeat to SA

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner identified the loss of three early wickets while batting and the failure to take more than one wicket with the ball in the Power-play as the primary reasons for their defeat to South Africa. Despite a recovery led by Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell, Marco Jansen's four-wicket haul restricted New Zealand to a below-par 175. South Africa's chase was dominated by a blistering unbeaten 86 from captain Aiden Markram, securing a comfortable seven-wicket victory. New Zealand must now focus on their crucial final group match against Canada to advance to the Super 8 stage.

Key Points: NZ's Power-Play Woes Cause T20 WC Loss: Santner

  • NZ lost 3 wickets in batting Power-play
  • SA took only 1 wicket in bowling Power-play
  • Aiden Markram's 86* guided SA to win
  • Marco Jansen's 4-40 restricted NZ total
3 min read

T20 WC: Wickets in the Power-play are always key, says NZ skipper Santner after defeat

NZ captain Mitchell Santner cites early wickets as key in loss to South Africa. Aiden Markram's 86* seals Proteas' win. Read match analysis.

"Wickets in the Power-play are always key. - Mitchell Santner"

Ahmedabad, Feb 15

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner blamed the loss of three crucial wickets in the Power-play by his team while batting first and their inability in taking more than one wicket with the ball in the first six overs in the eased conditions as the reason for their defeat to South Africa in a crucial Group D match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

Asked to bat first, New Zealand lost Tim Seifert (13), Finn Allen (31), and Rachin Ravindra (13) as they ended the Power-play with 58/3. They were 64/4 in the seventh over, and though they recovered thanks to a 74-run partnership between Mark Chapman (48) and Daryl Mitchell (32), they lost three quick wickets again to end with a modest total of 175/7 in 20 overs. At one juncture, they looked like they would go past 200, but Marco Jansen's 4-40 haul helped South Africa fight back.

"Wickets in the Power-play are always key. Probably a bit below par (today), but it was a little sticky too. Different grounds, so you need to adapt. We pride ourselves on that. Communication is key between batters and bowlers," said Santner after their seven-wicket defeat.

Santner said his team was put under pressure by the South Africans bowlers, and they tried to find ways out of that with aggressive batting and taking wickets. However, that did not prove enough as Aiden Markram hammered anunbeaten 86 off 44 balls to help the Proteas to a comfortable win.

"We were put under pressure in the powerplay, so finding ways to get out of overs, still staying aggressive and taking wickets. We had a good series against India. Any time you can play India in these conditions (leading up to a World Cup), it is good prep. Came up against a good team tonight," said the spin-bowling all-rounder.

New Zealand will now be playing a smaller team like Canada, which they rarely encounter in ICC events, in their next match. Santner said they will do a lot of video scouting to know more about their opponents.

"That is a challenge. We have played with and against them (South Africa) a lot. We will do a lot of video scouting about Canada. No easy games in the tournament and we know that will be the case in a couple of days' time," said Santner.

New Zealand have to win that match, their last in Group D, to inch closer to securing a spot in the Super 8 stage.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priyanka N
Feeling for Rachin Ravindra! He's of Indian origin and has such a big fan following here. Got out for just 13. 😔 The Ahmedabad pitch can be tricky, but 175 was definitely below par. SA chased it down too easily. Markram was brilliant though!
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Aryan P
This is why our Indian bowlers like Bumrah and Arshdeep are so crucial. Taking early wickets is everything in T20. NZ's bowling lacked bite in the powerplay. They let Markram settle and that was the match. Good analysis by Santner, but execution was missing.
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Sarah B
Watching from the UK. It was a fantastic game of cricket! The atmosphere in Ahmedabad looked electric on TV. While I agree powerplay wickets are key, I think NZ's middle order recovery was commendable. Chapman played well. Sometimes you just get outplayed by a great innings like Markram's.
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Karthik V
Respectfully, I think Santner is being a bit simplistic. Yes, powerplay wickets are key, but their death bowling was also ordinary. Letting SA win with so many balls to spare shows a broader problem. They need to be careful against Canada now - no team is a pushover in a World Cup. Jai Hind!
M
Meera T
The match was in our backyard! 🏏 Wish I could have been there. It's interesting he mentioned prepping against India helped. Our bilateral series are always high quality and prepare teams well for World Cup pressure. Hope NZ qualifies, they are a likeable team.

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