Champions Trophy SF 2, SA vs NZ Playing 11: What will be XIs of both teams?

New Zealand have won the toss and elected to bat first in the highly anticipated ICC Champions Trophy 2025 semi-final against South Africa at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on March 5.

 

Captains’ Take 

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma acknowledged that his team would have preferred to bat first but remained confident in their ability to execute their plans.

 

"We are not too concerned but the preference would have been to bat. Our bowlers need to bowl well, and then our batters need to do the job," Bavuma said. He confirmed that he is feeling much better and returns to the XI, marking the only change for South Africa.

 

 

Speaking about past experiences in knockout matches, Bavuma stressed the importance of capitalizing on key moments. "We have had learnings from semi-finals and finals. We need to win the key moments. We are doing a lot of work, lots of confidence. It's another game for us irrespective of it being the semi-final," he added.

 

Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner, leading the team in the absence of Kane Williamson, explained the decision to bat first.

 

"We are gonna have a bat first, looks like a good wicket, looks a bit dry. Privileged to captain my country and for us, it's about playing good cricket," Santner said. "We have the same team. The last game was in foreign conditions, but we have played a few games here in the tri-series. We will try to put pressure on them."

 

Playing XIs 

South Africa: Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

 

New Zealand: Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham (wk), Glenn Phillips, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, William O’Rourke.

 

Pitch Report: A Batting-Friendly Surface

  According to Bazid Khan and Dale Steyn, the Gaddafi Stadium pitch is expected to favour the batters, with hard and flat conditions and a fresh covering of grass that will allow the ball to skid onto the bat.

 

The boundary dimensions stand at 75 metres straight, 70 metres to the left, and 67 metres to the right, making it an ideal setting for run-scoring and boundary-hitting. However, the presence of three of the tallest bowlers in the world could introduce an extra layer of bounce, offering something for the pacers if they hit the right areas.

 

"The bowlers need to get it absolutely spot on as this surface is tailor-made for batting," reckoned Khan and Steyn, highlighting the challenge ahead for the bowling units.