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Ravindra and Williamson's centuries secure New Zealand's spot in the final against India
Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson's centuries secure New Zealand's spot in the final against India
South Africa vs New Zealand, Champions Trophy 2025: Ravindra, Williamson tons take New Zealand into final.
New Zealand delivered an all round performance to defeat South Africa in the second semifinal in Lahore and book their spot in the Champions Trophy 2025 final. Centuries from Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson helped New Zealand set a challenging target of 362. Their spinners worked together to control the game, but David Miller's explosive unbeaten 67 ball century, the fastest in Champions Trophy history reduced the margin of victory to just 50 runs by the end.
South Africa struggled in their chase right from the start. Matt Henry bowled well, and Kyle Jamieson began with a maiden over. Ryan Rickelton fell early after mistiming a shot off Henry, hitting it straight to cover. Rassie van der Dussen started confidently with a boundary, and Temba Bavuma, who had a slow start, finally broke free with a beautiful on drive to the boundary.
Although South Africa scored just 36 runs in the first eight overs, they improved in the Powerplay with boundaries from Bavuma and van der Dussen. However, they struggled against New Zealand’s spinners. Michael Bracewell bowled tight overs consistently, and things got even tougher for South Africa when Mitchell Santner joined the attack.
New Zealand defeated South Africa in a thrilling game. Despite a solid start by South Africa's spin duo, New Zealand fought back. South Africa looked strong when two of their batters scored half-centuries, but things turned around quickly when Mitchell Santner removed both players. By slowing the ball down, Santner got some turn on the pitch, dismissing Bavuma and later van der Dussen.
At this point, South Africa needed something extraordinary from Heinrich Klaasen to turn the game around. However, the New Zealand captain stepped up once more, winning a much anticipated battle against Klaasen, who hit a mistimed shot straight to long on. From then on, New Zealand dominated. Bracewell added a wicket, and Ravindra along with Glenn Phillips contributed three more dismissals.
The match was almost decided, but David Miller provided late fireworks. Despite being left with only the tail enders, Miller stunned everyone with a flurry of boundaries. By the 46th over, he was on 47 off 43 balls. He then managed to farm the strike, taking on Jamieson and O'Rourke to score consistently. In the last over, Miller needed 18 runs to complete an incredible century. He achieved this with two runs on the final ball, reducing the margin of defeat and ending South Africa's innings on a high note.
Earlier, New Zealand had set a massive total thanks to a strong batting display. Ravindra looked in great touch, and although South Africa briefly slowed the scoring after dismissing Will Young, Kane Williamson helped New Zealand regain control. Ravindra was especially dominant, hitting boundaries consistently, while Williamson supported him. They both reached milestones Williamson scored his fifty in 61 balls, and Ravindra made his fifth ODI century, all of which have come in ICC tournaments.
After Rabada's dismissal, Williamson took charge, showing his trademark scoop shots to accelerate the scoring. However, one of these scoops led to his dismissal. Even with both set batters out, New Zealand's Mitchell and Phillips went on an all out attack in the death overs. They smashed 83 runs in the final six overs, giving New Zealand a significant edge and almost sealing their place in the final.
Brief scores: New Zealand 362/6 (Rachin Ravindra 108, Kane Williamson 102, Glenn Phillips 49*; Lungi Ngidi 3/72) beat South Africa 312/9 (David Miller 100*, Rassie van der Dussen 69; Mitchell Santner 3/43) by 50 runs.
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