South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad did not hide behind clichés after his side’s crushing nine-wicket defeat to New Zealand national cricket team in the semi-final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, insisting it was “not a choke but a walloping”.

Chasing 170, New Zealand stormed to victory in just 12.5 overs on Wednesday night, courtesy of a breathtaking 33-ball unbeaten 100 from Finn Allen, the fastest century in the tournament’s history — and a blistering 58 off 33 balls from Tim Seifert.

The result extended South Africa’s painful history in ICC knockout matches. The 2024 runners-up had entered the semi-final as the only unbeaten side in the competition, winning seven straight matches, including victories over New Zealand in the group stage and hosts India national cricket team in the Super Eights.

When asked whether the defeat could be termed another “choke”, Conrad was blunt.

“I don’t know if tonight was a choke. I thought it was a proper walloping,” he said. “For you to choke, you need to have had a sniff in the game. We didn’t have one. Back home, we’d say we got ‘moered’.”

Switching to Afrikaans for emphasis, Conrad added: “Tonight we got a proper ‘snotklap’ — that’s a real hiding, a smack you don’t see coming. That’s what it felt like.”

New Zealand’s bowlers laid the foundation early after winning a crucial toss. Cole McConchie removed Quinton de Kock (10) and Ryan Rickelton (0) in successive deliveries in the second over, putting South Africa immediately on the back foot.

In the middle overs, Rachin Ravindra and Matt Henry applied further pressure as key batters — Aiden Markram (18 off 20), David Miller (6) and Dewald Brevis (34) — failed to impose themselves.

A late surge from Marco Jansen (55* off 30) and Tristan Stubbs (29) lifted South Africa to 169/8, but it proved well below par.

“We recovered nicely through Stubbs and Marco, but New Zealand were excellent,” Conrad said. “They exploited the conditions brilliantly with spin up front and we never got out of the blocks. They were a hell of a lot better than us tonight. It felt like everything went right for them.”

Reflecting on the abrupt end to what had been a dream campaign, Conrad admitted the team chose the “worst possible time” to have an off day.

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“We did a lot right throughout this tournament, but we picked a really poor night to have a bad performance,” he said.

He dismissed suggestions that playing most of their previous matches in Ahmedabad left them underprepared for a change in venue.

“That’s no excuse. They strangled us early, we lost wickets, never built momentum. A lot didn’t go right — but that’s because they were so good and never allowed us a sniff.”

Asked how the team would recover from such a heavy defeat, Conrad responded with dry humour.

“Hopefully we’ve got a carrier to pick us up and take us home,” he quipped. “The guys are hurting. In the end, you’re judged on World Cups and whether you win them.”

Despite the heartbreak, the coach expressed pride in his team’s seven-match winning run en route to the semi-finals.

“We played some exceptional cricket during this tournament. Not many gave us a chance of reaching the semi-finals based on our form before the World Cup. I’m incredibly proud of this group,” he said. “But that’s little consolation right now.”