South Africa, which has performed brilliantly in the Champions Trophy so far, will face New Zealand in the semi-final on Wednesday. Both teams consistently perform well but tend to falter under pressure in big matches. South Africa reached the semi-finals as the top team in Group B, while New Zealand lost its final Group A match against India. Under the leadership of Mitchell Santner, New Zealand finished second in Group A behind India, while South Africa topped Group B ahead of Australia.
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On paper, both teams appear evenly matched. South Africa and New Zealand have each won the Champions Trophy once, in 1998 and 2000, respectively. However, back then, the tournament was called the ICC Knockout Trophy and did not carry the same significance it does today. South Africa will be eager to shed its reputation as a team that chokes in crucial matches, while New Zealand is desperate to secure the title. New Zealand has reached the final of the ODI World Cup twice (2015 and 2019) and the T20 World Cup once (2021), only to fall short each time.
South Africa managed to break its semi-final jinx in last year’s T20 World Cup but lost to India in the final. The semi-final clash between South Africa and New Zealand will take place at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The pitch in Lahore is slightly slow but does not assist spin as much as the ones in Dubai. There is little to separate the two teams, and they seem evenly matched in most areas. However, South Africa appears to have a slight edge due to its diverse bowling attack. Both teams have strong batting lineups and excellent fielders, and spinners are expected to play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the match.
It will be interesting to see how the spinners from both teams perform on Lahore’s slow pitch. Both teams were part of a tri-series before the Champions Trophy and have recently gained good experience playing in Pakistan. New Zealand’s confidence will be high as they recently defeated South Africa in Pakistan.
Before the Champions Trophy, New Zealand successfully chased a target of 305 against South Africa in Pakistan and then defeated the hosts in the final to win the tri-series. Experienced batsman Tom Latham believes this experience will benefit his team. Latham is New Zealand’s highest run-scorer in the tournament so far, with 187 runs. Additionally, captain Kane Williamson regained his form with an 81-run knock against India.
In the bowling department, Matt Henry has been exceptional, even on slow pitches, and is the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with eight scalps. He has received good support from William O’Rourke, who has taken six wickets. With Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, and Mark Chapman, New Zealand has a strong spin attack.
South Africa is also in excellent form. The team has fielded one of its strongest squads in the tournament. Ryan Rickelton, who has scored a century, is in great touch, while Temba Bavuma, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram have also contributed with the bat. With players like Wiaan Mulder, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, and Tabraiz Shamsi, South Africa’s bowling attack looks formidable.
This high stakes match is going to be made interesting by the commentators. ICC has announced the commentators, who will provide the ball-by-ball commentary of this match on live TV. The umpires for the South Africa vs New Zealand semifinal has also been revealed by the apex cricket body. Their roles are also going to be crucial in this significant match.
SA vs NZ, Semi Final- List of Commentators for Today Match in Champions Trophy 2025
English Commentators– Wasim Akram, Ian Bishop, Mpumelelo Mbangwa, Kass Naidoo, Simon Doull, Ian Ward, Katey Martin, Shaun Pollock, Dale Steyn and Bazid Khan
Hindi Commentators– Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Sanjay Manjrekar, Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa, Mohammad Kaif, Piyush Chawla, Sanjay Bangar, Aakash Chopra, and Deep Dasgupta
Telugu Commentators– Hanuma Vihari, R Sridhar, MSK Prasad, Ashish Reddy, Akshath Reddy, NC Kaushik, and Kalyan Krishna
Tamil Commentators– Aniruda Srikkanth, Abhinav Mukund, K Srikkanth, Muthuraman, K V Sathyanarayanan, Murali Vijay, Yomahesh Vijayakumar, S Badrinath, and Sadagopan Ramesh
Bhojpuri Commentators– Saurabh Kumar, Gulam Husain, Sumit Mishra, Satyaprakash K and Ashutosh Aman
Kannada Commentators– Venkatesh Prasad, J Suchith, Sunil Joshi, Vijay Bharadwaj, Pavan Deshpande, Srinivasa Murthy, and Akhil Balachandra
Marathi Commentators– Kedar Jadhav, Aditya Tare and Chaitanya Sant
Haryanvi Commentators– Manvinder Bisla, Anil Chaudhary, Vishwaas, Krishan Sharma, Sonu Sharma, and Sumit Narwal
SA vs NZ, Semi Final- List of Umpires for Today Match in Champions Trophy 2025
| Role | Country | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Umpire | Sri Lanka | Kumar Dharmasena |
| Umpire | Australia | Paul Reiffel |
| TV Umpire | West Indies | Joel Wilson |
| Reserve Umpire | Pakistan | Ahsan Raza |
| Match Referee | Sri Lanka | Ranjan Madugalle |
SA vs NZ Semi Final- Squads
South Africa– Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen(w), David Miller, Marco Jansen, George Linde, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Corbin Bosch, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tony de Zorzi
New Zealand– Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner(c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William ORourke, Jacob Duffy, Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Nathan Smith
