By Karan Agrawal 
New Zealand defeated South Africa in the second semifinal of the 2025 Champions Trophy to book final date with India after 25 long years, having faced them in the final of what was then called the Knockout Trophy held in Nairobi. Talking about the second semifinal played in Lahore batting first after winning the toss New Zealand posted a memorth total of 362/6 courtesy of centuries from the bat of Rachin Ravindra and former captain Kane Williamson as the duo added 164 runs for the second wicket which laid the platform for the incoming batters to go big from the first ball and they did so with Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Philips to finishing of the innings with both batters falling a run short of their respective half centuries.
The Start
As far as South Africa’s bowling is concerned the Proteas bowlers looked under pressure from the first ball as they were not able to bowl in good areas and were relying on slower balls to fetch them wickets but the plan backfired as the New Zealand batters took full toll of a stagnant bowling on a batting friendly wicket in Lahore. Chasing 363 to win, South Africa got off to a good start led by captain Temba Bavuma, who scored a valiant half-century after getting off to a slow start. Bavuma was well supported by Rassie van der Dussen, who also scored a strokeful half-century and was looking set to get a big score and guide South Africa into the final, but opposition captain Mitchell Santner had other plans.
The Lone Warrior
The left-arm spinner halted South Africa’s scoring rate in the middle overs by picking up three wickets as the Proteas were reduced from 125/1 to 189/5. With the run rate climbing, big shots were the need of the hour, but the Blackcaps kept picking wickets at regular intervals, with David Miller holding fort at one end as he completed a fighting half-century. The left-hander tried his best to salvage some pride by accelerating in the death overs and completing a well-deserved century on the last ball of the match, but it was New Zealand who were the deserved winners as the Mitchell Santner-led side ended up winning the match by 50 runs.
The Scheduling
Talking to reporters after the match, David Miller showed his resentment towards the scheduling of knockout matches, resulting in South Africa’s hectic travel schedule, which saw them travel from Lahore to Dubai and back within 24 hours. In the words of Miller, “It’s only an hour-and-40-minute flight, but the fact that we had to do that [was not ideal],” Miller said. “It’s early morning, it’s after a game, and we had to fly. Then we got to Dubai at 4 pm. And at 7.30 in the morning we had to come back. It doesn’t make it nice. It’s not like we flew five hours and we had enough time to recover and recuperate. But it was still not an ideal situation.”
The Performance
When asked about South Africa’s performance, Miller said, “There were really good contributions, a couple of fifties up front. We had a really good foundation. Unfortunately, in the middle, we lost a couple of wickets too many. At the end of the day, it’s a team effort. Everyone’s trying out there to do their best. It would have been nice to have a rematch against India. But life is not fair sometimes. Anyone has to work really hard to achieve trophies.” “It’s not easy chasing 360 [363] even if it’s a good wicket. There was no dew, so I think the wicket just deteriorated as the game went on. They spun the ball a lot more than us. It’s just they got a little bit more purchase out of the wicket.”