Finn Allen Earns Massive Praise From Sachin Tendulkar After Historic T20 World Cup Ton

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar hailed New Zealand opener Finn Allen's record-breaking century in the T20 World Cup semifinal, lauding him for "finishing" before fans "could settle in". Allen etched his name in history with a 33-ball ton, the fastest across the T20 and 50-over WCs, booking NZ's spot in the final by making light work of a 170-run chase at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Wednesday. Sachin took to X, posting, "Semi-finals usually keep you on the edge of your seat. Today, Finn Allen finished it before we could settle in! What a game!"

Semi-finals usually keep you on the edge of your seat. Today, Finn Allen finished it before we could settle in! What a game!

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 4, 2026

During a run-chase of 170 runs, Kiwi openers Tim Seifert (58 in 33 balls, with seven fours and two sixes) and Allen (100* in 33 balls, with 10 fours and eight sixes) made light work of the total, chasing it down in just 12.5 overs. Allen overtook Chris Gayle's 47-ball ton against England in the 2016 T20 World Cup and Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell's 40-ball ton against the Netherlands in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup to slam the fastest World Cup century across T20I and ODI formats.

This is the fastest century against a Test-playing nation in T20Is and the joint-third-fastest in all T20Is, with Sahil Chauhan (Estonia) scoring the fastest T20I century, a 27-ball one against Cyprus in 2024. It is also the joint-fastest T20I century by a batter from a Test-playing nation, alongside Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza's 33-ball ton against Gambia in 2024.

Allen's century has also overtaken the 46-ball ton by Glenn Phillips against West Indies in 2020 as NZ's fastest T20I ton.

This century also overtakes Sri Lankan legend Tillakaratne Dilshan's 96* against the West Indies in the 2009 T20 World Cup quarterfinal as the highest score in T20 World Cup knockouts.

Besides Brendon McCullum (123 against Bangladesh in 2012) and Phillips (104 against Sri Lanka in 2022), Allen is the third NZ batter to score a T20 World Cup century.

Allen registered 10 fours and eight sixes in his innings, the joint-highest boundary count in a T20 World Cup innings alongside McCullum's 11 fours and seven sixes in his 123 against Bangladesh in 2012. The eight maximums by Allen are the most by a Kiwi batter in a T20WC inning and the most by any batter in a T20WC knockout match.

The opener's masterclass came at a strike rate of 303.03 and included just four dot deliveries. There have been 76 individual innings of at least 30 deliveries in T20 WC semis or finals to date. Of those, only Virat Kohli's 72 off 44 against South Africa in the 2014 semis had fewer dot balls, with just three.

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Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket Finn Allen New Zealand Cricket Team India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team T20 World Cup 2026