Lahore, March 4 (IANS) After the New Zealand batters collapsed against a potent Indian spin attack in their previous match, skipper Mitchell Santner has acknowledged the difficulties his side faced in the clash. But he still believes the conditions at the Gaddafi Stadium for their clash with South Africa will not assist spinners as the slower track in Dubai did.
The second semifinal of the 2025 Champions Trophy will be an interesting clash, with both teams eyeing their first victory in a limited-overs ICC tournament. The Proteas enter the game with two wins and one no result, whereas New Zealand finished as the runner-up in Group A with convincing victories against Pakistan and Bangladesh.
With quality spinners like Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi awaiting the Kiwi batters, Santner addressed the challenge that awaits his side.
“I think like our squad, they’ve got all aspects covered. They’ve obviously been going in with four seamers recently, and I think Lahore will probably be more accustomed to that kind of setup, probably not spinning as much as definitely Dubai. We’ve seen how good Keshav Maharaj has been for a long time, and Shamsi’s there, and also Markram can be tidy with the ball.
“So, I think they’re obviously pretty well balanced. I don’t think we’ll potentially get as much spin as there was in Dubai. So, I think that’s better for our batters if it doesn’t spin that much,” said Santner in the pre-game press conference.
New Zealand have been one of the most consistent teams in ICC tournaments across the last decade. After suffering back-to-back heartbreaks in the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cup finals against Australia and England, respectively, they were eliminated by India in the semifinals of the 2023 edition of the tournament.
However, despite boasting a stellar record, the Kiwis are yet to take the final step. When asked about how his side plans to conquer the hurdle, Santner stated that is the ‘billion-dollar question’ and with two quality teams taking on each other, it is anybody’s game.
“Billion-dollar question. First things first, at the start of the tournament obviously the first goal was to make it to the semifinals. We’ve had some good prep, and we’ve been playing some good cricket. So, I don’t think anything has to change. We know South Africa are a great side.
“They’ve been playing well, as they always do in these tournaments. So yeah, we know it’s going to be a challenge come tomorrow, but I think what we’ve been doing is been good. We’ve been doing a lot of good stuff. Obviously, the last game against India was on a very different surface. So, we know we’ve got experience here on the surface. We know South Africa shape up well, but I think it’s obviously a knockout. It’s just whoever can turn up on the day, and hopefully, that’s us tomorrow,” he added.
–IANS
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