More playoff agony for South Africa as Black Caps make Champions Trophy final

A familiar and painful script unfolded for fans of South African cricket in Lahore, where New Zealand won the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy on the back of a dominant showing with the bat and a masterly spell of spin bowling from their leader, Mitchell Santner. 

Centuries to Rachin Ravindra – his second of the competition – and one of South Africa’s biggest pests in ODI cricket, Kane Williamson, put the Black Caps on their way to 362/6 in their 50 overs. Set a mountain to climb, South Africa ended up 50 runs short, which would have been far more if not for a heroic boy-on-the-burning-deck prototype knock of 100* off 67 deliveries from David Miller, to exit their tenth ICC ODI tournament at the semi-final stage. 

If you’re pausing to think about the previous nine, let me catch you up: 1992, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2015 and 2023. 

Just last year, a nation that has a habit of falling short at major tournaments appeared on course to win the T20 World Cup in Barbados only to self-combust from the apparent comfort of needing 30 runs in 30 balls with six wickets remaining. And now, in another ICC knockout match against New Zealand, South Africa were eliminated by Santner’s team who will fly back to Dubai from Pakistan for the second time in less than a week to meet India in Sunday’s final. 

And, just for the record, before the start of the Champions Trophy, New Zealand had beaten South Africa in Lahore during a tri-series, chasing a target of 305 on the back of a century from Williamson. Darn these Kiwis, fans of the Proteas must be saying as they peer down into their lager. 

After Williamson won the toss and opted to bat on a belter of a track, Ravindra dominated a stand of 48 for the opening wicket with Will Young (21) before his partner was dismissed in the eighth over. Ravindra took three fours off Marco Jansen the over before that and with such sparkling batting, all Williamson had to do was farm the strike. 

Ravindra’s half-century needed 47 balls in an over from Wiaan Mulder that contained three fours, the run rate purring at just over six per over, and Williamson joined him to the landmark not too long afterwards. Put down on 56 by a diving Heinrich Klaasen, the former New Zealand captain ticked along and watched Ravindra extend his hot form with a fifth ODI career, and ICC tournament, century at the age of 25. This was another example of the 25-year-old’s ability and temperament, with his sense of occasion not to be overlooked. One for the long haul is Ravindra, who struck 13 fours and a six. 

After he departed for 108 off 101 balls, Williamson also raised three figures for the 15th time in the format in what was a typical Williamson innings. And where Tom Latham failed, Daryl Mitchell scored 49 off 37 balls and Glenn Phillips finished on 49* off 27 to pummel South Africa into despair. 

South Africa’s chase of a mammoth target never found the desired impetus, with their beleaguered skipper Temba Bavuma pottering around for 71 balls to score 56 after Ryan Rickleton became Matt Henry’s ninth wicket of the tournament. Rassie van der Dussen tried gamely to make up for Bavuma’s sluggishness by swatting two sixes on his way to a third straight fifty, but South Africa remained behind the asking. 

Dropped by Williamson just after raising his fifty off 64 deliveries, Bavuma was the first of his opposite number Santner’s three wickets in a superb spell of left-arm spin bowling. Trying to break free, Bavuma paid the price for attacking the metronomic Santner and succeeded in handing a catch to Williamson. Then Santner beat van der Dussen’s edge to bowl him for 69 off 66 balls, and when the dangerous Klaseen tried to pump him for six only to find Henry at long-on, the chase was extinguished. 

Santner bowled his ten overs for figures of 3/43, while Ravindra, Michael Bracewell and Phillips each got their names into the W column as spin continued to flummox South Africa. Ravindra gratefully accepted a tame caught and bowled offer from Aiden Markram, Mulder slog-swept an offbreak from Bracewell to deep midwicket and the part-time offerings of Phillips accounted for Jansen who successfully reviewed a not-out for lbw and Keshav Maharaj who glanced down the pads to be brilliantly taken by Latham. 

The only batsman to show an appetite for a scrap, Miller slugged four sixes to take the innings into the last over of the match, top-scoring with an unbeaten century that was raised off the final delivery.