One Defeat, Three Resounding Wins: New Zealand’s Road To Champions Trophy Final
Last Updated:
New Zealand are in brilliant ODI form, having bounced back from a defeat to victory over South Africa, and have sailed into the tournament final.
New Zealand’s players celebrate the dismissal of South Africa’s Marco Jansen (Picture credit: AP)
Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand are all set to take on India in the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy, as they look to bag their second title in the 27-year-long history of the tournament.
The Kiwis have shown fine form during the Champions Trophy till now, with brilliant displays with both bat and ball.
New Zealand’s hiccup came against India in Dubai, having already qualified for the knockouts by the time they played that match, setting up for a shot at sweet revenge against the Indians.
New Zealand beat Pakistan by 60 runs
Will Young and Tom Latham both smacked centuries as New Zealand amassed a whopping total of 320/5, with 113 coming off the last 10 overs.
Santner and William O’Rourke then took three wickets apiece as they bowled Pakistan out for 260.
New Zealand beat Bangladesh by five wickets
All-rounder Michael Bracewell was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4/23. Rachin Ravindra came to the crease with his team at 15/2 and capped off his return from a small stint on the sidelines, producing a memorable hundred.
Combined with a half-century from Latham, he and Ravindra made good headway towards the 237-run target, leaving it to the sixth-wicket stand of Glenn Phillips and Bracewell to see the side home with 23 deliveries to spare.
New Zealand lose to India by 44 runs
New Zealand tried hard against India, with medium-pacer Matt Henry collecting a brilliant five-for as Rohit Sharma’s team was restricted to only 249/9 from their 50 overs.
Kane Williamson collected a fifty in reply, but it was not enough as the Kiwis were bowled out for only 205, leaving the team 44 runs short of the win against India.
Semifinal: New Zealand beat South Africa by 50 runs
Santner won the toss and opted to bat first. Riding on centuries from Ravindra and Williamson, besides 49-run knocks from Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips, New Zealand posted a whopping 362/6.
Chasing the mammoth target, South Africa lost Ryan Rickelton early. Skipper Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen then added 105 runs for the second wicket before the former was dismissed by Santner in the 23rd over.
Van der Dussen then added 36 runs with Aiden Markram for the third wicket before he was dismissed in the 27th over by Santner.
South Africa were soon reduced to 218/8 in the 40th over before David Miller and Kagiso Rabada added 38 runs for the ninth wicket.
After the latter’s dismissal in the 46th over by Matt Henry, Miller and Lungi Ngidi built a 56-run partnership but they fell well short of the target.
For more in-depth coverage of the Champions Trophy, check out the latest Points Table to see where your favorite team stands. Stay updated on the tournament’s top performers with the Most Runs and Most Wickets leaderboards. Keep following for all the latest updates!