Perhaps Finn Allen needed a little time to digest what had just happened, which was that New Zealand had made it to the T20 World Cup final and he had got them there, scoring a hundred off 33 balls. Most didn't. Jofra Archer called it in 2013.
Feels weird to say this about a batter who has just set the record for the fastest century in nearly 20 years of this ICC tournament, but Allen is like really slow to pick things up. He waited for the ball, even though it had cleared the only obstruction in its path - mid-off - to reach its destination before filling his lungs up, clearing his throat out and lending voice to euphoria. Grant Elliott nailed it. He was at the Park 11 years ago and ten thousand kilometres away, and was much more prompt in encouraging 41,000 people to join him in breaking the sound barrier.
Roars at Eden live on. They make friends with history. They remain.
Allen could discover life on Mars, confess he is from the future, get outed for having a tramp stamp (there is already one butterfly on his left forearm) but all anybody will ever remember about him is how he looked at around 10pm local on Wednesday at the Gardens - fists clenched, back arched and head pointing up at the sky. Even mum and dad.
"I'm sure my parents were up watching the whole game," Allen said at the post-match press conference. "You know, hopefully they're proud. But I think, you know, as a nation, I think hopefully everyone gets behind us and rallies around us for Sunday. Obviously, difficult time for people to watch back home [NZ is seven-and-a-half hours ahead of India]. But I'm sure, you know, people were keeping tabs on the game. And hopefully they can get up and have a Monday off at work and watch the final."
After the last ball was bowled and when the crowd saw Allen walking over to the boundary edge to do a TV interview, they added to the noise that turned Kolkata into core memory. The Alternative Commentary Collective takes you live inside a flat in Dunedin. Meanwhile, the 39,000 at the ground will be back here in a few weeks hoping he does it all over again wearing purple instead of black. And there's a good chance he will.
Faf du Plessis and Ian Bishop on a record-breaking knock by Allen
Allen was born to play T20s. They tried sticking him into the other formats and he just took it as a sign that people wanted to see him hit the ball hard for twice as long. In 2023, returning to his hometown Auckland from Wellington*, he very nearly broke the record for their highest score in the 50-over game, batting almost the entire innings to score 168 runs in 110 balls. That century came on the back of his missing out on the New Zealand squad for the ODI World Cup. This one caps a stretch where not only is he assured of a place in the national team, he is given special privileges. Allen was wearing Perth Scorchers colours and holding the BBL trophy aloft when the Black Caps were in India for a T20I series in January.
NZC are very good at seeing their players as human beings who are vulnerable to notions of travelling the world and maximising earning potential. This tolerance has helped them keep hold of their best performers and benefit from the gains they make away from home. Allen reached whole new heights of six-hitting in Australia and has done it again here. With 20 of them, he has set a new T20 World Cup record and one of them must please him more than most.
It was the fourth over of the chase. South Africa went to Lungi Ngidi early and his variations had kept the runs down to five with one ball to go. Allen met it like his opening partner had done just seconds ago against Marco Jansen, shifting over to the off side and dinking it over the wicketkeeper. In the group stage in Chennai, when he shared a 176-run opening partnership with Tim Seifert against UAE, Allen said he was going to steal his ramp shot. With it, and others, he scored 53 runs behind the wicket. That's a 35% increase on his previous best in a T20 game.
"I think, you know, me and Tim, we try and keep it as simple as we can with our batting, react to what's coming down to us and, you know, always try to look straight to start and use length to our advantage," Allen said, confirming his evolution.
Luck played a part. "We just hoped [Mitchell] Santner would win a toss to start. And he did that. So that was the first part done."
Finn Allen smashed the fastest century in men's T20 World Cups - 100* in 33 balls - to take New Zealand past South Africa and into the final
Conditions got better for batting in the second innings. "From then onwards, it was just, you know, take the bull by the horns, you know, take the game on, not shy away from any challenge."
Pulling that off in a World Cup semi-final is easier said than done and that really was the difference between the two teams. South Africa were 48 for 2 in the powerplay. New Zealand were 84 for 0. The winning runs came 6.5 overs later, Allen smashing it down the ground. The end.
A very different vibe settled on the stadium. Katey Martin, Lockie Ferguson and Jacob Oram got together for a chat. Rachin Ravindra and Mark Chapman couldn't stop smiling. Matt Henry, whose past 48 hours have been a blur, was finally able to stand still and take it all in. It was warm. Intimate. The quiet at Eden has a way of living on too.
*0600hrs GMT The article had earlier mentioned the 2023 domestic game as Allen's first for Auckland