The enthralling New Zealand vs South Africa semi-final at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was on every cricket fan’s lips and is the talk of the town after the match. Both teams showed outstanding skill during the contest on the 5th of March at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore; however, it was New Zealand who came out on top and advanced to the grand final.
New Zealand Batting Performance: An Onslaught
New Zealand’s strategy of batting first paid off as the winning team set an achiveable target of 350. The opening stand between Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson saw New Zealand get an excellent start. The highlight of the innings was the blistering strike put on by Ravindra who batted sensationally scoring his fifth ODI century, 108 runs. Williamson also chipped in with an equally good 80 runs.
The combination of the team’s preformance helped take New Zealand’s score to 212-1 in the 33rd over, proving to be the backbone of the innings. The Black Caps were quite dominant. In South Africa’s case, the injuries sustained by the key bowlers only made things worse, as they were unable to capture some of the most important wickets during crucial times of the match.
New Zealand was able to capitalize on these conditions and setup a score close to 400 runs, due to the South African bowlers aggressive batting approach.In the later half of the innings Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillip rose to the challenge and sustained New Zealand’s boiling momentum. With the pitch favoring batters, South Africa had a challenging chase ahead New Zealnd had set a dauting target of 378/6 in 50 overs.
As expected, chasing 379 runs in a high-stake semi-final showdown is always a challenge. South Africa’s innings were rough and took an aggressive start with the New Zealnd’s disciplined bowling attack. The paced bowler’s run scoring were also quite challenging, so the test batters, Trent Boult and Tim Southee, leveraged these conditions to add to the scoring ease.
Quinton de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen tried to recover the innings with a shaky but somewhat promising start. Klaasen scored a quick 54 and De Kock played a class exhibit for 67 runs. Their partnership did provide some support to South Africa, but the growing pressure of the required run rate was mounting on the batting unit.
The middle order was failing under extreme pressure and South Africa’s David Miller was fighting a lone battle, scoring a commendable 92 runs. With lack of support from the lower order, South Africa fell short of the target and were all out for 312 runs in 48.3 overs. This resulted in a loss to New Zealand by 66 runs.
New Zealand vs South Africa: Key Performances and Turning Points
- Rachin Ravindra Centuries: His knock of 108 runs set the ideal tone for New Zealand, allowing them to get off to a great start.
- Kane Williamson’s Experience: His composed 80 runs added gave New Zealand and strong foundation during the starting of the innings.
- New Zealand’s Aggressive Finish: Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips’s last-minute quick runs made it easier to push the total beyond the reach of South Africa.
- Trent Boult’s Early Breakthroughs: His aggressive opening spell took apart South Africa’s top order, shocking them.
This is a recap for his lone fight, David Miller never had enough resources to support him out of the chase he tried executing.
New Zealand vs South Africa: Review on The ICC Champions Trophy Final
With the victory, New Zealand goes into the final of ICC Champions Trophy 2025, where they will India on March 9. The Black Caps display an overall performance in this tournament, and now they are looking to grab their first ICC Champions Trophy title.
For South Africa, it’s another stunning semi-final defeat. After performing superbly during the group stage, they fail to perform under pressure in elimination rounds, which seems to be their curse. It’s time to go back and prepare for future tournaments hoping the semi-final phase curse can be broken.
New Zealand vs South Africa: Final Thoughts
The semi-final match of New Zealand versus South Africa was surely an interesting fixture for all the fans, and keeping them on the edge from start to finish is every cricket fan’s dream. From sublime century by Ravindra to the bowling skills afterwards from Boult, the match was nothing short of extraordinary. With New Zealand now eyeing for the trophy against India, eagerly waiting for the grand final of Champions Trophy 2025.
See live match here.
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