Centuries from batting sensation Rachin Ravindra and the ever reliable Kane Williamson powered New Zealand into the Champions Trophy final with a resounding 50-run win over South Africa in the second semifinal on Wednesday.
New Zealand will now travel to Dubai for Sunday’s final against India, after Virat Kohli’s 84 anchored India to a four-wicket win over Australia in the first semifinal on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Ravindra hit 108 runs off 101 balls and raised his fifth ODI hundred at an ICC tournament. Williamson also impressed with 102 off 94 as New Zealand scored the tournament’s highest ever score of 362-6 in its 50 overs.
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After winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Black Caps bettered Australia’s Champions Trophy record of 355 made against England in the group stage at the same venue last month.
South Africa, which was unbeaten in the group stage, again fell in the knockout stage of an ICC tournament.
South Africa knew it was going to lose with 99 runs needed off the last three overs but David Miller (100 not out) reduced the scale of defeat by smashing 48 runs in those three overs — including seven fours and two sixes — as his team finished on 312-9.
Miller raised his 67-ball century off the final ball with two runs.
Half centuries from Rassie van der Dussen (69) and captain Temba Bavuma (56) kept the Proteas in the race by the halfway stage before New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner squeezed the chase with 3-43 in 10 overs.
South Africa's batters also struggled against three other spinners with Glenn Phillips (2-27), Ravindra (1-20) and Michael Bracewell (1-53) sharing five wickets between them.
It was New Zealand’s third win at the Gaddafi Stadium in almost a month after victories against host Pakistan and South Africa in the warmup tri-nation series last month.
“It’s a cool feeling to make the final,” Santner said. “The platform we were able to set with Rachin and Kane, and set up the death phase earlier, was great … We got four allrounders who bowl spin, that gives (us) depth.”
New Zealand reads conditions well
Van der Dussen and Bavuma shared a run-a-ball 105 second-wicket stand before New Zealand spinners spun their web.
Bavuma was lured by Santner’s flighted ball and gave Williamson a regulation catch at point, and van der Dussen couldn’t read a delivery that spun away just enough to have him clean bowled, as South Africa slipped to 161-3 in the 27th over.
Heinrich Klaasen (3) was then caught off Santner by a diving Matt Henry, who hurt his right shoulder while completing a brilliant diving catch. Aiden Markram gave a tame return catch to Ravindra and the chase got derailed.
With wickets falling all round him, Miller raised a personal milestone with his late assault.
South Africa bowlers get a bashing
Ravindra and Williamson set the platform for a strong total with a 164-run second-wicket stand after Lungi Ngidi deceived Will Young with a slower ball and had him caught at mid-off in the powerplay.
Ravindra and Williamson rotated the strike and punished any loose ball from fast bowlers for boundaries. Both batters used their feet well against left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who returned his second most expensive figures of 0-65 in ODIs since his debut against England in 2017.
Ravindra, who made three hundreds at the 2023 World Cup in India, and also a century against Bangladesh in the group game of the Champions Trophy at Rawalpindi, was dismissed when he edged Kagiso Rabada after hitting 13 boundaries and a six.
Williamson took his time to settle down and got a lucky escape on 56 when wicketkeeper Klaasen couldn’t hold onto a sharp chance.
Williamson took 61 balls to complete his half century, but pushed the scoring rate and raced to his 15th ODI hundred off the next 30 balls when he scooped Wiaan Mulder behind the wicket for a boundary before falling to the same shot shortly after.
Daryl Mitchell (49) and Phillips (49 not out) cut loose in the death overs and despite both missing out on their half centuries they helped New Zealand accumulate 110 runs off the final 10 overs.
Phillips smashed Marco Jansen for four successive boundaries before New Zealand surpassed Australia’s tournament record in the last over. Ngidi (3-72), Rabada (2-70) and Jansen (0-79) all proved expensive while Mulder gave away 48 runs off his six overs.
“New Zealand were above par,” Bavuma said. “We had one or two good partnerships but not enough … New Zealand really put us under pressure from the get-go."