South Africa and New Zealand will lock horns in a relatively low-key second semi-final at Lahore on Wednesday (March 5). The contest will feature arguably the two best fast bowling units in the tournament. (IND Vs AUS Highlights | Full Coverage | More Cricket News)
Both teams haven’t played a match at this venue in the competition. We of New Zealand and South Africa ahead of their knockout clash.
South Africa
South Africa have had an easy road to the semi-final. Their top-order clicked against Afghanistan and the fast bowlers got the early breakthroughs. They were lucky to get a point in the washout against Australia – their toughest opponents in the group – and they hammered a beleaguered and listless England unit at Karachi.
South Africa라이브 바카라 top-order has got some runs and that will stand them in good stead against New Zealand on what is the best batting surface in the competition. Lahore has a batting average of 39.6 and strike rate of 103.8 in the tournament, suggesting that not only have teams scored big but have also got their runs at a fair clip at the venue.
Ryan Rickleton hammered a hundred against Afghanistan while Rassie van der Dussen has smashed two fifties at a high strike rate. Heinrich Klaasen, Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram have all registered half-centuries in the competition.
Klaasen will be the X-factor for South Africa. He is an excellent player of spin and his battle with Mitchell Santner and Michael Bracewell will be key in the middle overs. Klaasen has an average of 45.7 and strike rate of 120.6 against the slower bowlers.
South Africa also boast of the best pace unit in the competition. The combined bowling average of their quicks is the best in the tournament (18.68). They also have the best wicket-taking propensity with the best strike rate (23.1).
Wiaan Mulder has been the pick of their bowlers with five dismissals at an economy of under 4.Marco Jansen has been the most prolific wicket-taker since 2023 with 43 scalps in 23 matches at a strike rate of 27.7.
New Zealand
New Zealand have made it a habit to make it to knockout stages of a big ICC event. They were the finalists of the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and the semi-finalist of the 2023 edition. They also won the inaugural season of the World Test Championship in 2021 and were the finalists in the 2021 T20 World Cup and the semi-finalists in the 2022 edition.
The Kiwis have had a mixed bag in the 2025 Champions Trophy. The batters won them the contest against Pakistan at Karachi, hammering a 300-plus total before the bowlers set up the match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. However, the batting collapsed in spin-friendly conditions against a high-quality Indian unit in Dubai.
Tom Latham is the leading run-getter for New Zealand in the tournament, having already registered a hundred and a fifty. However, the two key batters on a flat Lahore surface would be Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips.
Ravindra has scored 1088 runs in 27 innings since 2023 at an average of 41.8 and strike rate of 108.9. He was New Zealand라이브 바카라 highest scorer in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
Phillips has a strike rate of 146.2 in the death overs in ODIs since 2023, the highest in this phase for New Zealand, and is a destructive match-winner in the lower-order.
Matt Henry will spearhead the pace attack – he is the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with eight wickets at 15.5 apiece. Henry라이브 바카라 propensity to pick wickets stands out in his ODI career and his bowling strike rate of 28.7 is the third best for a fast bowler in the format (minimum 150 wickets), only after Mohammed Shami and Mitchell Starc.
Will O’Rourke has also been impressive with six wickets, while Michael Bracewell has controlled the middle overs with an economy of just 4.13. Skipper Santner has 16 wickets at an economy of 4.8 in ODIs since 2023 and will partner Bracewell in choking the South African batters in the middle overs. His battle with David Miller could be key in the final 15 overs – Miller has an average of 51 and strike rate of 102 against left-arm spin in ODIs since 2021.
