Kane Williamson yet again proved to be a thorn in the flesh for South Africa as his third consecutive ton against them took New Zealand to a strong total of 362 runs in the ongoing Champions Trophy semi-final in Lahore. Williamson's masterclass 15th ODI hundred and opening batter Rachin Ravindra's blistering (108) laid the foundation for the lower middle order batters to finish on a high. Daryl Mitchell's (49) & Glenn Phillips's (49) blistering knocks in the death over gave New Zealand much-needed impetus.
On a flat pitch in Lahore, New Zealand elected to bat and got off to a slow start as they lost Will Young for just (21) runs. However, that was pretty much the only happiness Proteas could get for a long time as Ravindra & Williamson put on a huge second-wicket partnership of 164 runs. The former was the aggressor between the two as he took on South Africa's middle overs bowlers - Wiaan Mulder and Keshav Maharaj. Williamson played the anchor role to perfection and only took calculative risks when required.
South Africa, who came into the semis with the bowling in fine nick, suddenly struggled on a flat pitch in Lahore. None of thier bowlers proved to be threatning as Williamson and Ravinda dealt with relative ease. Rabada and Nigidi picked up five wickets between them, and managed to keep thier economy rate below eight runs per over.
The onus on South Africa batters to chase the challenging score put on by NZ
South Africa are known to crumble on big stages during the run chases. They often don't handle the pressure and lose wickets in clusters. However, with no demons on the pitch, South Africa should fancy themselves chasing this target down.
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