It will be a good show between the two bowling attacks: Temba Bavuma

On Wednesday, March 5, South Africa and New Zealand square off in the second semi-final of the Champions Trophy 2025 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. In the possibly difficult knockout game, both clubs will be trying to advance one step closer to their second crown.

New Zealand requires far less preparation. Their bowlers aren’t supposed to put forth much effort after their flight from Dubai.

Mitchell Santner, the captain, stated, “We just needed to make sure we were ready,”

Meanwhile, South African captain Temba Bavuma views the bowling unit contest as fiercely competitive.

“The bowling of New Zealand is excellent. They don’t have many scoring opportunities and are disciplined, particularly with the new ball. We hitters need to make snap decisions. They force errors and squeeze the game in the middle overs. To position ourselves to take charge, we will need to put in a lot of effort. We have faith in our ability to bowl. Both sides will have a fierce battle,” he admitted.

The bowling statistics for New Zealand provide credence to Temba Bavuma’s opinion. No team has bowled more dot balls or had a greater economy rate than India, who played on the slow, low-scoring pitch in Dubai. Will O’Rourke, Santner, and Michael Bracewell are three of the top four bowlers from New Zealand who bowl dot balls in Pakistan’s Champions Trophy matches.

On the eve of the game, South Africa put in three hours of intense training under the lights. While Kagiso Rabada mostly concentrated on fielding drills, Wiaan Mulder and Marco Jansen had extended periods.

The travel schedule for the South African team was hectic, with flights from Karachi to Dubai and back to Lahore.

Although there was room for improvement in terms of logistics, the boys had a good time—some went sightseeing, while others played golf. We took full advantage of it,” Bavuma continued.