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India have punched the ticket to the Champions Trophy final by beating Australia. Today’s encounter between South Africa and New Zealand will determine who will they face in the summit clash. Brace yourselves for some high-octane action as two title-hungry cricketing nations square off at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
New Zealand have beaten South Africa to reach the finals of the tournament! David Miller’s feisty knock goes in vain as the Proteas choke again after a smooth partnership between Bavuma and van der Dussen. The Kiwi’s skipper Santner was the hero with ball, breaking partnerships and scalping both Bavuma and van der Dussen.
So the Blackcaps will fly to Dubai again to face India in the final showdown. Magnificent all round performance from them tonight and they will look to replicate it against the unstoppable force that is India on the 9th of March. Till then, goodbye!
Rabada’s entertaining cameo comes to an end! Henry the bowler and Phillips with the catch. The Proteas’ bowler fails to get any purchase behind his shot and Phillips does not make any mistake.
South Africa are 257/9
Maharaj has to join the procession! Phillips gets his second of the night. Maharaj gloves one to Latham behind the stumps who completes the catch with two hands. New Zealand on the brink of reaching the finals.
223/8 South Africa.
Glen Phillips gets Jansen! Phillips traps Jansen on the pads and that was adjudged to go on and hit the leg stumps. New Zealand’s review works in their favour. The game is now nearly done for the Proteas.
South Africa are 212/7
Mulder has to head to the pavilion as well! Ravindra with his second of the game. Mulder gets down on one knee but fails to generate the power needed to clear the boundary and finds Bracewell.
South Africa are 201/6
Markram is out! Ravindra is contributing with the ball as well. A very soft dismissal as Markram mistimes a shot and the ball lobs to Ravindra’s welcome palms. 5 down for the Proteas now. The target is getting more and more difficult to scale.
190/5 South Africa.
Santner again! This time it is Klaasen who is the victim. The Kiwi captain has single handedly brought them back into the game. A miskewed shot by Klaasen as it finds the bottom, flies to long on and Henry slid to complete the catch. In the process he has hurt himself, which will be a worry for the Blackcaps.
South Africa are 167/4.
Santner the magician! Slides one in to van der Dussen who gets castled by it! New Zealand are right back into this game. The two set batters, Bavuma and van der Dussen are both gone!
South Africa are 162/3
Bavuma gone! The captain’s battle each other and Santner prevails! Bavuma was getting a bit frustrated and was looking to lift the run rate. Caught at backward point by Bracewell, that was an excellent piece of bowling.
South Africa are 143/2.
Bavuma and van der Dussen both have reached their 50s! Great partnership by these both till now. The partnership has crossed 100, standing at 105. Wonderful batting here at Lahore.
Rickelton is out! Henry gets the wicket. The wicketkeeper batsman was looking good out there with some majestic off drives but he was unable to catch Henry’s variations. Bracewell at cover had an easy catch to complete.
First one down for 20.
Rickelton is out! Henry gets the wicket. The wicketkeeper batsman was looking good out there with some majestic off drives but he was unable to catch Henry’s variations. Bracewell at cover had an easy catch to complete.
First one down for 20.
Bavuma’s and van der Dussen’s partnership has now crossed 70. The pitch has not shown any signs of changes. Bavuma is in his 40s and approaching a well made fifty. Kiwi’s captain Santner has brought himself into the attack as they need wickets desperately.
South Africa are 94/1.
That is the end of 10 overs, which means the batting powerplay has come to an end. A super powerplay for South Africa as their top order punches in 60 runs in it. Still a bit below the asking rate, which they will have to meet in the middle overs now. New Zealand should start looking to break this partnership between Bavuma and van der Dussen.
South Africa are 63/1.
Rickelton is out! Henry gets the wicket. The wicketkeeper batsman was looking good out there with some majestic off drives but he was unable to catch Henry’s variations. Bracewell at cover had an easy catch to complete.
First one down for 20.
The players are back out to begin the second innings. South African openers Rickelton and Bavuma and New Zealand’s opening bowler Matt Henry will get things underway.
The Kiwis have posted a gigantic total on the board after opting to bat. They came out with a solid gameplan and most of their batters made hay on a flat batting surface.
This is just the second instance of New Zealand scoring 300-plus against South Africa in an ODI. Recently they had overhauled the 305-run target at the same venue during the tri-series.
Highest first innings totals in Champions Trophy
362/6 – NZ vs SA, Lahore, 2025 SF
351/8 – ENG vs AUS, Lahore, 2025 (lost)
347/4 – NZ vs USA, The Oval, 2017
338/4 – PAK vs IND, The Oval, 2017 Final
331/7 – IND vs SA, Cardiff, 2013
My colleague Abhi will take you through the second innings.
Damn, South Africa are leaking runs! Glenn Phillips has set the Champions Trophy alight with his acrobatic catches and he’s now proving his mettle with the bat too. 18 runs off the over and Bavuma won’t be pleased with the execution of his left-armer.
Slower length ball on off, Mitchell heaves in direction of deep backward square leg. Boundary rider Mulder is late to pick it up, and makes a meal of the opportunity. In his defense, the sunrays might have blocked his vision. It’s that phase of the day with the shadows emerging.
Mitchell is going hammer and tongs as New Zealand transcend 300. Gaining his wicket with five overs left in the innings would have been crucial but South Africa have messed up big time!
Another batter who tries to do something out of the box and pays the price for it. Latham premeditates and reveals his stumps as he crouches in his stance and readies himself to play the scoop. Rabada keeps it simple though. He bowls a seam-up delivery on a good length on middle and off and rattles the timber. You miss, I hit. Latham is beaten for pace and the ball crashes into the stumps.
Excellent passage of play for South Africa this as they snuff out three important wickets.
Williamson falls to the scoop. Full outside off, Williamson shuffles across, does not get under the ball properly, so no elevation on this unconventional shot and an easy catch to short fine-leg. The senior pro struggled early on, even playing a maiden versus Rabada, but went on to script a stellar turnaround.
End of a fine knock from the young gun as Rabada breaks the 164-run stand. Full and wide outside off, the off-cutter, Ravindra flays the bat on the drive, thick outside-edge carries to Klaasen towards his left. Rabada celebrates with a fist-pump. Ravindra walks off to a standing ovation. Well played, champ!
Take into account that New Zealand had to bench Devon Conway to accomodate Rachin, and boy is he delivering the goods!
Precocious talent. Rachin Ravindra has five ODI hundreds to his name, all of them rustled up at ICC events – three in the 2023 World Cup, and two in this Champions Trophy. That’s the highest figure among all New Zealand batters at ICC events, and he’s all of 25 years old. Mahmudullah was the previous one to score all his 4 ODI tons in ICC events.
Kane Williamson was fortunate to be left off by Heinrich Klaasen after he accomplished his half-century. The keeper flung himself low to his right, full stretch, and got his right mitt to the ball but it does not stick. Not a simple catch by any means, but these half chances ought to be converted in big games.
The 22 boundaries hit by New Zealand (20×4, 2×6) is the third-most boundaries a team has reeled off in the first 30 overs of an innings in this Champions Trophy, behind Australia (23 vs England) and South Africa (26 vs England).
Meanwhile, South Africa continue to be plagued by injury concerns and availability issues in this Champions Trophy campaign. Mulder has only bowled four overs for 0/32 and is in clear discomfort, trudging off the field after receiving some medical attention. Temba Bavuma might have to summon Aiden Markram for another couple of overs.
Rachin Ravindra brings up a 47-ball half-century by pulling Wiaan Mulder for four, and proceeds to collect two more boundaries off the 18th over as New Zealand’s run rate breaches six.
The second four of the over bore testimony to how well he has adjusted to the pace of the surface, anticipating the low bounce and smearing the ball over midwicket. The third was a treat to the eyes, an on-drive that beats mid-on to his right. 15 off the over.
Easy pickings off Mulder, who fared well in Karachi but looks ineffective on this surface. Expect Aiden Markram to play a role with the ball, should his hamstring permit.
A well-constructed over by the pace spearhead, the highlight being a slower ball on a good length outside off. Williamson is early into the whip as Keshav Maharaj runs and slides forward at mid-on but it just drops in front of him. Small margins!
