At the renovated Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday, March 5, New Zealand and South Africa faced off in the second semifinal of the Champions Trophy 2025.
Heartbreak has previously befallen both sides in ICC competitions. South Africa, with two victories and one draw, comes into the match having played well in the league stage.
In just 29.1 overs, they chased down 180 to defeat England by seven wickets. Meanwhile, in a low-scoring match against India, New Zealand encountered some difficulties. Their batting faltered, managing only 205 as they chased 250.
Both teams will look to jump on to their chances. The Proteas in the head-to-head records have won 25 out of the 73 ODI games.
Meanwhile, these two teams even faced each other in the 2nd game of the Pakistan Tri-Nation Series, which the Kiwis won by six wickets at this ground.
New Zealand won the toss and decided to bat first. The Kiwis went with an unchanged team, while the Proteas replaced Tristan Stubbs with skipper Temba Bavuma.
Temba Bavuma missed the last game against England due to sickness. As a result, Aiden Markram led the side in his absence.
Notably, Markram was also dealing with some injury concerns but got fit ahead of the thrilling semifinal encounter which has certainly boosted South Africa’s spirits.
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