2nd over: New Zealand 19-0 (Seifert 13, Allen 6) Another let-off for Seifert, who hooks Kagiso Rabada’s second ball miles in the air. De Kock charges towards fine leg, tells Brevis it’s his catch but can’t quite reach the ball as he dived forward. That looked like a much better chance for Brevis.

Finn Allen steers his first ball past slip for four. It went finer than he intended so Rabada will feel unfortunate with that too – and again when Allen thumps his second delivery just short of cover.

1st over: New Zealand 11-0 (Seifert 11, Allen 0) An eventful start to the innings. Seifert drives Jansen square for four, snicks another boundary wide of slip and edges the next delivery this far short of Rickelton at short third.

We’re back. And the giant left-arm quick Marco Jansen is going to bowl the first over.

“This is going to be tight isn’t it,” says Ruth Purdue. “Fair play for SA for battling through past 150. Are we going to see the old South Africa or the new world beaters? Do you think the Proteas have the best bowling lineup in the tournament?”

I’d probably take India’s on paper but in this tournament SA have been the best I guess. They’re the only team going at less than eight an over with the ball. How they cope with the dew will probably decide this game.

20th over: South Africa 169-6 (Jansen 55, Maharaj 1) Maharaj dabs the hat-trick ball for a single to get Jansen on strike for the last delivery of the innings. He scruffs a yorker down the ground for two to complete an outstanding last over from Matt Henry: six runs, two wickets. New Zealand need 170 to win.

19th over: South Africa 163-6 (Jansen 52, Bosch 1) Jansen continues a gem of an innings by cuffing a short ball from Ferguson over mid-on for six. He drives the next ball over long-on for six more to reach a coruscating 27-ball fifty, including 31 from the last nine deliveries.

18th over: South Africa 150-5 (Stubbs 29, Jansen 40) Tristan Stubbs wallops Neesham for 10 runs in two deliveries – four down the ground, six pulled meatily into the crowd. Stubbs, who was was 13 not out from 18 balls, has hit 16 from his last five.

Jansen does the same thing to end a huge over for South Africa. First he touches a bad delivery to fine leg, then he carts a pull over midwicket for six. Twenty-two from the over, 37 from the last two. South Africa are right back in this.

17th over: South Africa 128-5 (Stubbs 18, Jansen 29) Jansen starts South Africa’s death march – don’t worry, in cricket that’s a positive thing – by swinging Henry handsomely into the crowd at midwicket. He is such a clean hitter of the ball.

Stubbs slugs four more before hitting a single to bring up the fifty partnership from 43 balls. Fifteen from the over.

16th over: South Africa 113-5 (Stubbs 12, Jansen 21) Santner bowls a couple of wides but concedes only three off the bat in his final over. He finishes with 4-0-25-0.

With the important caveat that nobody knows anything, it feels like New Zealand are well on top here.

15th over: South Africa 108-5 (Stubbs 10, Jansen 20) Lockie Ferguson comes back into the attack. Stubbs cracks an extra cover drive that is half stopped by the diving fielder, a fine effort that saved three runs. But it was a no-ball so South Africa have a free hit. Ferguson restricts them to a single with a fine yorker.

Six singles, a no-ball and a dot ball = seven from the over.

14th over: South Africa 101-5 (Stubbs 7, Jansen 17) Jansen dances down the pitch to drive Ravindra for a seriously elegant straight six. Seifert tries to take a catch near short leg when Stubbs pushed at Ravindra, though I think it hit only the pad. Doesn’t matter because Seifert couldn’t reach it.

Ravindra finishes his spell with figures of 4-0-29-2.

13th over: South Africa 91-5 (Stubbs 5, Jansen 9) Santner concedes three from his first five balls, only for Jansen to edge the last past the keeper for four. South Africa needed that.

12th over: South Africa 84-5 (Stubbs 3, Jansen 4) Rachin Ravindra’s day started miserably when he dropped Markram. Now, after a boundaryless over, he has superb figures of 3-0-19-2.

In the context of the most recent game on this ground, when India chased 196 to beat West Indies, New Zealand are in a terrific position. This pitch feels slightly slower, but South Africa surely need at least 150.

11th over: South Africa 80-5 (Stubbs 1, Jansen 2) Marco Jansen, a bruising hitter but not necessarily a man you want coming in as early as the 11th over, is the new batter. He and Tristan Stubbs will have to take a couple of overs to get their bearings.

10th over: South Africa 77-4 (Brevis 34, Stubbs 0) Rachin Ravindra now has 11 wickets at this World Cup, two fewer than the clubhouse leaders Shadley Van Schalkwyk and Blessing Muzarabani.

9th over: South Africa 67-3 (Brevis 27, Miller 3) Oh, hi! Brevis makes room to pummel the first ball of Santner’s second over for a humongous six over long-on. If you are not familiar with Dewald Brevis, he’s 22 years old and obscenely talented. He could hit sixes in the Colosseum.

Four singles make it a handy over for South Africa. This game is beautifully poised, just the way us neutrals like it.

8th over: South Africa 57-3 (Brevis 19, Miller 1) The TV commentators, Pommie Mbangwa and Danny Morrison, are not entirely convinced it was a clean catch by Mitchell. Interesting.

7th over: South Africa 52-2 (Markram 17, Brevis 17) Seifert has passed a concussion test but is going to keep wicket in a helmet. With the Powerplay done, the New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner, the craftiest of left-arm spinners, comes into the attack.

His first over, full of subtlety and variation, yields only four singles for South Africa. It hasn’t been the kind of flying start we’re used to from South Africa but I think they’ll be pretty happy with their recovery from 12 for 2. If they keep wickets in hand they could be devastating at the death.

6th over: South Africa 48-2 (Markram 16, Brevis 15) A sharp lifter from Ferguson beats Brevis and gets really big on the keeper Seifert, who can only deflect it into his face. I think he’s okay but the physio has come on during the drinks break. Being hit in the coupon by a Lockie Ferguson delivery can’t be much of an experience.

5th over: South Africa 45-2 (Markram 15, Brevis 14) Markram was an unfulfilled talent for so long, almost a decade, but these days he bats with a formidable combination of authority and skill. When the new bowler Jimmy Neesham tries to follow him outside leg stump, Markram clips wristily into the crowd at midwicket. Some shot, that.

Brevis turns a good over into a huge one – 17 from it – by cover-driving successive boundaries. Brilliant batting.

4th over: South Africa 28-2 (Markram 8, Brevis 5) Two right-handers at the crease now, so McConchie is replaced by the rapid Lockie Ferguson. Markram clips his third ball towards midwicket, where Ravindra drops a pretty simple chance. You’ve just dropped the T20 World Cup, etc.

Ravindra was in a similar position to Herschelle Gibbs when he famously dropped Steve Waugh in 1999. Markram, who pumped 86 not out against New Zealand in the group stage, salts the wound by lashing the next ball over the off side for four.

3rd over: South Africa 22-2 (Markram 3, Brevis 4) Henry swings a rare loose delivery down the leg side for five wides. That aside it’s a tight and accurate over, with only one single from the six legitimate deliveries.

“If Matt Henry does well today having flown from (essentially) one side of the world to the other, scurried into the hospital ward to watch his child arrive, then flown back again and run (splendidly) onto the ground the next day to deliver those corridor-of-uncertainty pearls whilst processing total flight-based delirium, he deserves an OBE,” writes Ben Bernards. “I suspect he will in fact be collared mercilessly.”

2nd over: South Africa 16-2 (Markram 2, Brevis 4) Dewald Brevis snicks the hat-trick ball wide of the keeper for four!

That over is surely one of the greatest moments of McConchie’s career. He’s 34, playing only his 16th T20 international, and before today he had never taken a wicket at a World Cup. Cricket can be such an old charmer when it wants.

1st over: South Africa 7-0 (Markram 1, De Kock 6) Henry starts with a very tight line, particularly to De Kock, who is so dangerous when he can free his arms. After three dot balls in a row, Henry drops slightly short and is mullered over square leg for a big six. A reminder that a bowler’s margin for error in this format is almost non-existent.

“Hello Rob,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “If a match between Australia and India is tge one where you want both to lose this one is where you want both of them to win. Winning all their matches has never been a good sign when you enter the knockout stage and on that statistic I will go with New Zealand reaching the final.”

I think South Africa will be too strong, but the toss makes it maybe a 55/45 match.

It’ll be fascinating to see who opens the bowling along with Matt Henry. There is some talk that Mitchell Santner, who rarely bowls in the Powerplay, might start in the hope of stifling his opposite number Aiden Markram. The trouble with that is that the left-handed Quinton de Kock could do damage against Santner’s left-arm spin, plus you lose at least one over from Santner later in the innings.

This week’s Spin is a particularly good read

“I wish cricket was that easy,” said Aiden Markram, the South Africa captain and the highest-scoring batter remaining in the competition. “Both teams have played a lot of cricket since [SA beat New Zealand in the group stage] and it’s a completely fresh start. I don’t think it’s as straightforward as being able to repeat that again. With regards to us being favourites or not, that’s all different people’s opinions.”

Mitchell Santner insisted the teams reconvene as equals. “Whether you want to call us underdogs or not, for us it was everyone’s goal throughout the tournament to get to this stage. We’re here now, and we back ourselves in one-off games against most teams,” he said. “South Africa look a very good outfit but they’re in the same boat as us now – it’s one game and you’re into a final.”