The Seifert and Allen show: New Zealand's Bash Brothers turn it on in Chennai

That was Tim Seifert on his opening partner and good friend Finn Allen after they mowed down 175 in 15.2 overs and seventy-six minutes against UAE in Chennai. Seventy-six minutes.

Allen is the harder hitter of a cricket ball between the two. He's among the hardest hitters in the world. A loud thud was felt in the press box when Allen furiously swiped Junaid Siddique over the wide long-on boundary and into the second tier in the eighth over. Next ball, he drilled the ball so hard and straight that Seifert was caught in the line of fire. Seifert was knocked off his feet and left with a bruise that needed some attention from the physio.

"Look, he smacks it. Just smashed it straight at me, so that's his own fault," Seifert quipped, which immediately got a rise out of Allen who was sitting next to him. "Cost me four runs."

"Yeah. Sorry mate," Seifert said. There were big smiles on both their faces.

The chemistry between New Zealand's openers is unmissable. They go back a long way, having come together at academies and the pathway system around a decade ago. However, it has taken time for them to come together like this on the big stage. Around the time when Allen and Seifert smashed 59 together against Pakistan in March 2025 in Mount Maunganui, they were dubbed as New Zealand's Bash Brothers.

Seifert, like his hero Brendon McCullum, plays a number of trick shots and charges at fast bowlers. Allen, like the other original Bash Brother Chris Lynn, sees the ball and hits them like they only belong in orbit.

"I'd take his switch-hit," Allen said, when asked which of Seifert's shots he wanted. "He probably doesn't play it as much as he should. But, yeah, I'd take his switch-hit."

"Oh, look, I'll just take his one six down the ground," Seifert said.

Tuesday's demolition job came with a caveat: it was against UAE, an Associate nation playing its first World Cup game since 2022. The pitch in Chennai was also flatter than usual and the true bounce and shorter boundary on one side may have reminded Seifert and Allen of conditions in New Zealand.

It remains to be seen whether they can replicate such success against elite teams in a country where they have often struggled in the past. IPL franchises don't get into bidding wars for Allen or Seifert though both can double up as wicketkeepers. Seifert has only made sporadic appearances in the IPL while Allen is yet to make his debut in the league.

However, they have given themselves a better chance to succeed in India in 2026 by exposing themselves to conditions around the world. Seifert emerged as the best spin-hitter in the CPL while Allen more recently clattered a record 38 sixes in the BBL. To play T20 cricket around the world, they had to give up central contracts with New Zealand, but the Black Caps have been happy to welcome them back and value them as their first-choice opening pair.

Before the start of this T20 World Cup, head coach Rob Walter had locked in Seifert and Allen as their openers despite options in Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra. Tom Robinson, who cracked a century against Australia in October last year, didn't even make the squad.

It was always going to be Seifert and Allen. They are opposites at the crease, but they have the same destructive potential. On Tuesday, Seifert scored 21 off six balls square of the wicket or behind it. Allen doesn't even look at those zones. His happy place is in front of the wicket, where he scored 75 off 37 balls. Their contrasting methods can mess with bowlers.

Having rocked T20s in New Zealand and various other parts of the world, Seifert and Allen are out to conquer India in the next few months: T20 World Cup first and then the IPL, where they will play together for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

It's hard to separate Seifert and Allen. Shortly after after they exchanged bear hugs and wrapped up a record-breaking win, they were praising each other at the press conference.

New Zealand will hope that it's happily ever after for their Bash Brothers.