South Africa vs New Zealand Champions Trophy 2025 2nd Semi-Final Highlights: David Miller’s century in vain as SA Africa go down by 50 runs to NZ

Now then, 69 needed from 6. SA can't win but can Miller get a 100? Starts this over with a four!! A dot ball now. He needs 14 from 4 to get to a 100 now. Can he do it? And takes 2 from the next one as 300 comes up for SA. A four next to backward square leg. Goes to 92. 2 balls remaining and Miller needs 8 more. AND SIX!!!! Oh dear god!!! 2 more needed for a century!! Wht an innings. 2 runs to end with a century!! NZ win by 50 runs 

William ORourke in to bwol the penultimate over of the innings and Miller with a boundary to start!! Follows that up with another boundary!! But it's probably too little too late. Takes 2 runs next. SA need sixes now. A dot, followed by another 4!!! Miller is not going out silently into the night!! And he nears his century. A single to end. SA 294/9 after 49 overs

Kyle Jamieson to bowl the next over and Miller has smashed a 6 off the very first ball!!! Follows that up with a 4 to third man!! Thick edge amnd that's past everyone. Another huge hit but it's mistimed as it falls just behind Williamson as he fails to reach it!! Back to back dots next as Miller declines runs. Swivels and pulls the next ball for a four!! Miller with a late charge. 15 from this one, SA 279/9 after 48 overs

On to the 47th over and it's all academic from here. SA need 104 from 24. William ORourke in the attack now and starts with a dot as Miller declines a single. Follows that up with another dot before Miller smashes a 4 to get his 50!!! Takes a single to retain strike in the next over. SA 264/9 after 47 overs

Matt Henry continues and Miller with a powerful drive through the covers but the fielder stationed there saved a sure-shot boundary. Takes a single next and Rabada is on strike. He tries abig hit but has found Glenn Phillips in the deep!! SA one wicket away from defeat and elimination.

Rabada c Phillips b Matt Henry 16(22)

Santner continues and after a dot to start, Rabada smashes the second delivery to deep midwicket for a 4!! What a sweep shot!! Another dot follows which is bookended by another boundary, this time straight down the ground!! SA 253/8 after 45 overs

South Africa need 123 from the last 7 overs. Matt Henry in the attack and Rabada with a single to strike. NZ won't mind those. Miller pulls the next delivery to deep midwicket for another single. Rabada swings and misses the next one before pushing the 5th delivery to deep square leg for a single. 5 from this over. SA 245/8 after 44 overs

Santner in to bolw the 43rd over and Miller defends the first delivery before taking a single off the next ball. A dot and a wide follows as Rabada stays rooted to the spot. Over ends with 2 dots and a single. SA 240/8 after 43 overs

9 left and Miller needs to break the shackles at some point now. And he does!! Smasahes a huge six to start Phillips' over!! More of that please!! And he obliges with a four, this time towards sweeper cover!! Stands and delivers. Takes a single and Rabada can see this over off. 11 from this one. SA 237/8 after 42 overs 

Into the last 10 overs and Santner will bowl the first of them. Miller is on strike and he takes a single to start. They need over 14 run sper over at this juncture. But the Proteas batters are content to just take singles at the moment. Just 3 from this one. SA 226/8 after 41 overs

Into the 40th over and Phillips will bowl this one. A single from Miller to put Maharaj on strike. AAAAND GONE!! Phillips has taken 2. Down the leg side and Maharaj tries a sweep, gets the gloves and it nestles into the safe hands of the NZ keeper Latham.

Maharaj c Latham b Phillips 1(4)

Rachin will continue. He already has a wicket and if he can get another scalp here, especially Miller's it'll be a good day at office for the youngster. Just 3 from the first 4 deliveries as he keeps it tight. Just 5 from this over ultimately. SA 217/7 after 39 overs

After a bit of delay, we are back underway as Glenn Phillips asks for an LBW review on Marco Jabsen. No bat involved says UltraEdge. And that's three dots. Another wicket goes down for South Africa as they look elimination in the eyes.

Marco Jansen lbw b Phillips 3(7)

Wiaan Mulder slogswept one and the ball went straight to square-leg fielder on the boundary. Mulder and Jansen where the last batters who could bat a bit with Miller but one of them is gone now and all Miller is left with is Jansen now. This has slipped away from South Africa and it will take something more than miracle to win this game for them. It is the spin from New Zealand which has done the damage. How well has New Zealand used finger spin in this tournament. They have been able to do all without a leg-spinner on some of the flattest wickets on the world.

New Zealand are all over South Africa here. The spinners, especially Mitchell Santer, have taken complete control of this game. It is highly unlikely that South Africa will make anything of this match but if there is even the slightest possibility of any team winning from this situation, it is South Africa as they have Miller in their ranks who can pull it off. But he needs someone to stay with him, and the runrate too is creeping up quite drastically. It will be very interesting to see when New Zealand will bring back seamers and how will the slower ones on this surface will behave.

It is amazing how brilliant Mitchell Santner has been in the last few months. He had created havoc when he came to India in Pune and today on a flat wicket he turned the screws into the South African batting line up. It is the flight and guile of Santner which has been superb. The amount of revs he has been able to get into the ball in recent times. He just has hit a sweet spot in his career which hardly many players hit. As we update, South Africa has lost another wicket, and it is Aiden Markram. The wicket seems to be getting slower and slower and it was nothing shot from Aiden Makram in the end as he gave a return catch to Rachin.

Henrich Klaasen departs. It is quicker and flatter delivery from Santner, which did feel like it was shorter one hence, Klaasen goes onto the backfoot and tries to hit him through mid-wicket; however, beaten for the pace Klaasen hits it straight to the fielder over there. Santer has been a superstar in this spell. It has been a wicket which has offered nothing for anyone, but he managed to extract something out of the surface and has been top notch. Miller has walked into the middle, but we are afraid there is too much work left to do for the Proteas here now. It just seems like they have lost one wicket too many here.

Rassie van der Dussen has fallen here, and it has been a cracking delivery from Mitchell Santner. The ball pitched on the middle and leg and went on to hit the off and middle stump. It was turn that did Rassie. It did seem like Rassie trusted the pitch however, Santner does the smarts. That wicket will not only fill New Zealand with confidence for the batters walking into the middle will have that wicket in mind. Interesting times in his contest. Henrich Klassen has walked into the middle. Preferably froma  South African perspective, he could have come after 3-4 overs after but here we are.

Rassie is playing a lovely knock here. Before all the fireworks, South Africa needed a score of substance to set the stage, and that is what he is doing. He is doing it at quite a good tempo and to be fair to Rassie, he himself is quite a powerful hitter of the cricket ball. This game is superbly placed at this point in time. One thing on surfaces like these teams need bowlers with X-factor While both South Africa and New Zealand are good attacks, they are quite functional if they would have a wrist spinner this game just would have manifested in a different way.

Mitchell Santner gets the breakthrough for New Zealand. It was a tossed up delivery, which Bavuma charged down the track to hit down the ground; however, got the outside edge to point fielder Kane Williamson. It is a timely breakthrough for New Zealand however, herein lies the game. Aiden Markram has walked into the middle. Markram, David Miller and Henrich Klaasen, this is the game for New Zealand if they have to get over the line. Even if one of the three gets going tonight, we might havea  close contest coming up. As of now it is South African spin against Markram.

Temba Bavuma has got to his half-century here. It is nice innings by the South African skipper. He did start a bit slowly however, he picked up the pace as he went along now, he need to change the gear look to be a tad bit more proactive. Meanwhile, Rassie too is going about his innings nicely here in the middle, and once he gets, he too can hit some big blows. As we update, Rassie hits a gigantic six of Santner. They need more of them but they have to come at regular intervals just to keep a check with the scoring rate as this partnership has now been together for a long a while.

We had the first water break of the innings, and South Africa has motored along nicely in this chase. It is a massive total however. When chasing these big totals, teams might not win in 30 overs, but if they play reckless cricket, they can definitely lose. The likes of Bavuma and Rassie are playing superbly, setting the platform for the big hitters to follow. Mitchell Santner has brought himself into the attack his spell is where lies in this game. His 10 overs will be crucial in the direction this games will go. Important passage of play coming the phase might make or break the game for both sides.

Santner can win this kind of game just by squeezing the teams out, but not this South African lineup. Yes ,scoring 363 runs in the semifinal is not going to be easy; however, the Proteas have David Miller and Henrich Klaasen, which is a luxury no other team in the world has. Those two if get going on this wicket, no score will be big enough to defend. As of now, things are going according to plan for New Zealand but they need to pick wickets and bring those big hitters into the game. The longer they had to worry about run rate and score, the more New Zealand have a chance the moment the top order takes it into a situation where it is under 150 it will become tricky for the Kiwis.

Bavuma and Rassie have put on the 50-run stand, and it has also come at a brisk pace. This partnership is what the doctor ordered for South Africa. Mitchell Santner has brought in the changes here. He has turned to Willam O Rourke and Michael Bracewell first up here. While O Rourke is not as much of a surprise Bracewell is certainly a surprise as there are two right-handers in the middle yet the skipper opted to turn to his off-spinner instead of bringing himself onto the attack or maybe he is worried about batters being able to get underneath his offiie in the final overs who did not have had a great game in the previous one.

Runs are starting to flow off Bavuma's bat here. He has hit a couple of boundaries. The bat is making a cracking sound as it is coming into contact with ball. So far, he has been a tad bit circumspective, but now he is taking on the bowling, and his strike rate which was a touch slow to start off is now moved nicely into 80s. After 10 overs South Africa have got to 56, which is a fine start. They need a partnership now in this middle overs. Once again, there was a bit of nibble early on for the seamers, but the conditions are now looking very good for batting and just seems like it will be a game of pressure handling more than anything and if that is done we might have chase on our hands.

Kyle Jamieson has started well here for New Zealand. while he is a tall bowler and tends to get extra bounce, he is also quite skillful with his ability to get swing and seam, if any, on offer from the surface. When New Zealand played Pakistan, they suffocated Pakistan by defending a massive total and forced Pakistan into a box from where they could not get out. However, two things about South African batting is they are lot more skillful and they have one of the best power hitters in the world game in David Miller and Henrich Klaasen who have probably come across all the codes in the matrix there ever have been in finishing situations.

Matt Henry has picked up Rickelton here. It was a slower delivery, which the batter just checked, and the ball went straight to the short cover fielder. This is exactly the opposite start that South Africa would have wanted here. Rassie van der Dussen has walked into the middle now. He can play big knocks, but he tends to take a bit of time before he starts going. The important part here for South Africa is especially now that Rickelton is gone, is that they bat at a good tempo and don't try and target too much and start losing their wickets they stay near to the rate and lay the foundation for the big hitters to follow.

Three overs into the chase, Rickelton has looked a tad bit comfortable compared to Temba Bavuma here in the middle. He did play a few sublime straight drives already; however, Temba Bavuma batting at the other end seems to be struggling with a bit of lateral moment that has been offered under the lights. Both Henry and Jamieson are quite tall bowlers, and it just might be their lengths which seems to be troubling Bavuma at this point in time as he is among one of the shortest batters going around. While it is important that South Africa needs to maintain a tempo but they also have to be wary of not losing cluster of wickets before 25-30 overs. 

Both the openers are in the middle, and the lights are on. Regardless of how this pitch has behaved in the noon, there will be some help for New Zealand seamers with the new ball early on, and the bowl will come on even nicely as the evening goes compared to noon however, the challenge is to get through these initial overs.

I guess it was the partnerships, Young and Kane helped me get through the ebbs and flows, at times my timing isn't so great, but KW helped me get through that phase. At times, the ball held a bit and the bowlers also bowled good lines and lengths. Hopefully, the ball will continue to hold onto the surface a bit more under lights. He's a classy player (on Kane Williamson), fun to watch him bat from the other end. The pitch held up at times, looked a bit crumbly, so the key will be to bowl into the surface, use the cutters and variations (on the bowling plans).

That is a massive total to chase regardless of how this surface is going to play in the evening. South Africa did have their moments through the afternoon. Some were spilling of half-chances, and some were exceptional batting from New Zealand. The Kiwis scored 110 runs in the final 10 overs and regardless of the format of the game, it is a massive amount to score. South Africa need to apply themselves and bat sensibly like New Zealand did. They cannot win this game in 30 overs, do the South Africans, but they can definitely lose in it. We will be right back with the chase do stay with us. 

New Zealand have got to 349 here. It did seem like they would fall short of this total. even at the 40th over mark, it did seem too much but it has been clever batting. It is experience on how to bat in these situations which has got them through to get into current situation.

One thing New Zealand has done quite brilliantly today is have a set batter from one end through the day. When Williamson was batting, he always had Rachin at the other end, and when Mitchell was getting in, it was Williamson. When Phillips came in, he had Mitchell, and now Mitchell is well set while Bracewell has walked into the middle. It is the key to do well in any format of the game. just have a set batter in the middle at all times just so that the scoring never stops. New Zealand did not pull off any big 20 runs overs but still they are about to concede 350 runs here which is massive total to chase in the second innings. 

Well, it seems like we have jinxed it since we have updated it. It was good bowling from South Africa at the time; Daryl Mitchell and Phillips have cut loose here in the middle. Bowling at death is not one of Jansen's strengths and he was found out today through the day. There was not much seam moment for him up with the new ball hence, he resorted to bumpers however, it backfired even at the death, he has resorted to slower bumpers, which the batters where sitting back and waiting for. As we update Mitchell who has gone past his 50 is gone now. Mitchell tried to clear the mid-wicket boundary but was caught by the fielder over there.

South Africa has bowled quite well here since the ball got old. One side of the ball is scuffed up, and the other side is shining a bit. There is no reverse-swing it, but we might see if the ball is maintained this way for another couple of overs. Rabada, especially has been quite smart with his lengths. mixed it up nicely. he mixed up his pace nicely. It is a good passage of play for South Africa They still have Lungi Ngidi to bowl a few overs, who has been the best bowler arguably in this innings. Meanwhile, for New Zealand, Mitchell has started to take the attack on. Intresting battle this for the next few overs. 

Tom Latham, trying to play the scoop shot, missed a good length delivery from Kagiso Rabada, and the ball crashed into the middle stump. While the intent of Latham is hard to question but is he the right man to come in and bat at this stage of the game is going to be questionable. However, he is gone, and Glenn Phillips comes into the middle. Phillips is the danger man for South Africa, while Mitchell can do his fair share of damage. if Phillips gets going, New Zealand will pile on a big score. However, as the ball got a bit softer batting has become a tad bit difficult. The slower balls are sticking in the surface a bit.

Kane Williamson scored his 15th ODI ton and has fallen trying to play a scoop shot against Mulder. He was caught by fine leg inside the ring. Nevertheless it has been a sublime inning. When he came into the middle, he did play second Fidel to Rachin; however, as the innings went on, he picked it up, and once he crossed his half-century, he started to play some innovative shots as well. Tom Latham has walked into the middle and 250 is up for South Africa with 10 overs remaining with the batting still to come 330 is the minimum New Zealand would want to get to and that will be a massive total under the circumstances.

Wiaan Mulder has come back into attack here, which is a good sign for South Africa. He did walk away with an injury earlier, but him coming back and bowling will reduce one headache less for Bavuma. However, there is still a lot of work to be done in this game for South Africa as first it was Rachin, and now Kane Williamson is closing in on his ton and Daryl Mitchell since coming in has played a nice hand. He did not waste too many deliveries trying to get himself in. He attempted his shots and got to the other end and made sure Willaimson too had enough strike instead of blocking off an end.

It was a slower one wide outside the off-stump for Ravindra, which he tried to hit through the off-side however, the edge went to Klaasen. There is the breakthrough for South Africa finally but the damage has been done, and the platform is set for the batters to come in from here on and explode. Mitchell has walked into the middle,e and he hits the ball quite as cleanly as anyone in the world of cricket. With the platform New Zealand have enough in the tank to get 350 however, with Rachin falling they will need Williamson to bat for another 20-30 minutes.

New Zealand has taken complete control of this game now. It did seem like South Africa was getting back into the game for a brief period however, once Rachin got his ton, they immediately pulled off another big over against Rabada, which ended the spell where South Africa seemed like they where sneaking into the game. The way this game is going, New Zealand would end up with 350 unless South African bowlers pick a cluster of wickets in those final overs. Also, we have an injury update on Mulder, who has walked back. He is the fourth seamer in this attack and has bowled four overs in this first spell. As we update Rabada picks Ravindra.

It seems like the Kiwi batters have lost a bit of rhythm in the last 10 minutes or so. South African player Wiaan Mulder was getting some treatment in the middle for a while and stopped the play for a bit, and then there was an appeal from South African players of an edge it seemed like of Rachin's bat which South Africa sent upstairs, and there was nothing in it. The stoppage in play just seemed to have caused a bit of a momentum shift. As we update, Rachin Ravindra gets to his fifth ODI. What an innings this has been from him. All his centuries have come in ICC events just displays the temperament of the batter. 

It has been that passage of play for South Africa where the batters have given half-chances. Be it Rachin's missed catch by Klaasen or one after that when Kane Williamson hit one high in the air against Markram which landed in no-mans land or a catch which was not judged properly and then another opportunity came when Williamson misread Ngidi's slower one and liked to drive through covers however, got the edge which Klaasen tried to pull off but missed it. Whenever there is a massive partnership in the making there are always half-chances it is very rare that these partnerships go smoothly, and South Africa has spilled those opportunities which is demoralizing for the bowlers on this flat deck.

South Africa has dropped an opportunity here, and it is Keshav Maharaj's delivery, which Rachin danced down the track and got the edge, which ran away for the boundary. Henrich Klaasen behind the stumps missed the opportunity. it was a difficult chance, but he could have done better. It seems like the Kiwi batters have targeted Maharaj here. He is South Africa's bank is Maharaj. He tends to get through his 10 overs without much damage being done for himself and picks a wicket. It is looking like South Africa will have a massive total to chase in the evening given how this partnership is going and the batters to follw.

South Africa has turned to Aiden Markram for a spell here. More than wicket-tacking, he needs to build up pressure for a bit. The scoring has been all too easy for New Zealand on this surface. What an opposite this has been when compared to Dubai. Also, Bavuma has gotten him from the right end where the dimensions tend to support him. South Africa so far in this tournament have been quite happy just to use five bowlers as they did their job, but today is the first time things have been not as smooth sailing. Bavuma needs to alter his plans and make sure he has weapons at the death bowling.

South Africa needs to find a way to pick up wickets here. It has been all too flat, and Bavuma is just going through the bowling changes here. Bring a man into the circle, make some clever field placement, or slow down the game for a bit just to break the momentum of this inning as it has been all to New Zealand's way so far in this game. The way Rachin is batting here in the middle unless he himself is going to make a mistake, it doesn't seem like he will get out. Jansen has come back for a spell here, and in the first one it has been too one-dimensional from him either bowl-full or short. It will be interesting to see if he will use any slower ones in this spell.

Wiaan Mulder bowled a couple of poor balls to Rachin, who obliged them and hit for a couple of boundaries. In the process, he reached his half-century and is making his intentions clear. The problems will now start for Temba Bavuma if Rachin decides to change gears as there is not a lot on the surface, and apart from Ngidi and Rabada, both Jansen and Mulder are not known for their variations. Bavuma has problems now, big problems. He needs to break this partnership here and now, as the longer these two bat together, they will continue to accelerate. 

The first water break is on. Kane Williamson has batted quite sensibly since coming in and building another partnership in the middle. Ravindra, too, once the wicket of Young fell continued to take a bit more responsibility and kept going with the innings. So far, so good from New Zealand; they are maintaining a good tempo and are laying the nice foundation for the hitters to come. New Zealand does bat deep but they play the format to its merit. By every means, they could have overdone it and attempted for 380 kind off score and lose a few early wickets and gotten themselves into trouble on this surface but it has been process oreinted and they have played it as it came.

The bowling from South Africa has looked flat so far. Usually, we see teams try and use different methods of bowling on these wickets which are flat but South Africa so far just seems to be keen on good proper Test match lines combined with odd bumpers. Ngidi, through his spell, did bowl quite a of slower ones but the rest of the others have just put the ball in good areas and hoped to get something out of it. And also one more drawback for South Africa is the sixth bowler for them is Aiden Markram who is more of a part-timer than all-rounder and is used quite sparingly by Temba Bavuma in fact hasn't bowled in this tournament yet.

The first power play has been New Zealand's. Though South Africa has picked up the wicket, Rachin has played pretty well and has gotten them to a very good start. The slower balls on this surface seem just to be doing a bit. That has been the evidence so far, given the way Ngidi has bowled. Meanwhile, Rabada, who has replaced Marco Jansen from the other end, too, have started well in the first couple of overs. But so far there have been nothing alarming for the New Zealand batters on this surface. If they do bat well and properly 330 is a must on this surface.

Young did start the ICC Champions Trophy very well with a ton against Pakistan however, he went off the boil as the tournament went on. Young, who always tends to be in and out of the New Zealand side, had an opportunity to make this Champions Trophy his own with the start he had; however, it was not to be. It will be interesting to see what New Zealand would do with him and Devon Conway, who is outside the team and also fallen of a cliff when compared to how he started his career. As it seems increasingly how well Rachin is batting he will take one of the opener spots at least till Kane Williamson is playing in this side. 

Rachin Ravindra is looking in a sublime touch. South Africa did come up with the plan of bowling him bumpers and hoping he would make an error; however, the left-hander has been up to the task. The advantage of this pitch has been that it has enabled to play him on the up as the ball is coming in straight lines. This is going to be a tricky challenge for South Africa. They usually only tend to use five bowlers regardless of the surface, but today they might have to do it a bit differently. As we update Lungi Ngidi has picked up the first wicket and it is Will Young. It was a slower one which Young was beaten by as he tried to hit it over the top however, the ball went high in the air and mid-off Markram finished the catch.

Marco Jansen has slipped in the bumper quite regularly here in the first few overs however, it seems like both Young and Ravindra are staying on the backfoot and punishing these balls for boundaries quite nicely. Young has the gifted ability to play the ball late however, it is something different from Ravindra, where he is transferring the weight on the back foot and plays some crisp pull shots. Jansen cannot pitch a lot up as well as there is no help for him but since he has pushed the batters on the backfoot he can push an oddball up there the sucker full ball outside the off-stump and make Rachin drive.

Three overs into the innings, there is no swing or seam moment on this surface. It did seem like with the breeze across it would do something but it has done nothing. The batters have been quite assured with the bounce on this wicket, and they have played some crisp shots on the up so far. It just might be another high-scoring affair at this venue. But from the South African perspective, they need to contain Rachin Ravindra, who might take away this game in the powerplay and give momentum to New Zealand. Regrdless of how good the wicket is there still will be the pressure of ICC knockout in this game.

We are done with the opening over and it is Marco Jansen who has taken the new ball for South Africa. There is a steady breeze going on across the ground which will enable a bit of swing for these bowlers. Lungi Ngidi is bowling from an end to the right-hander where the ball can affect the away swing if he wants to ball however, he has to make sure he doesn't overdo with the seam position and snap on his wrist when he is looking to move away it has to come naturally. Given how Lahore has played thus far it just seems like South Africa has a better attack for the game compared to New Zealand who have more tweakers in.

The national anthems are done, and we will be starting the game in moments. The pitch is looking exceptional, and so is the weather. Expect a high-scoring game here in Lahore do stay with us to enjoy all the action.

Looking at the dimensions, it's 75m downtown, to my left is 70m and to my right is 67m. This pitch has been fabulous for run-scoring and boundary-hitting. It's a lovely day for cricket. It's a hard and flat surface, there's a fresh covering of grass so the ball will skid on. Three of the world's tallest bowlers are playing today so they will get extra bounce. There's something for them to work with. The bowlers need to get it absolutely spot on as this surface is tailor-made for batting

Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke

We are not too concerned but the preference would have been to bat, our bowlers need to bowl well and then our batters need to do the job. Just one change, myself, I'm feeling much better. We have had learnings from semi-finals and finals. We need to win the key moments. We are doing a lot of work, lots of confidence, it's another game for us irrespective of it being the semi-final.