{"id":8736,"date":"2025-03-05T20:58:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T15:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=572868"},"modified":"2025-03-05T21:00:54","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T15:30:54","slug":"champions-trophy-2025-sa-vs-nz-can-south-africas-middle-order-pull-off-a-stunning-chase-to-reach-the-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/cricket\/champions-trophy-2025-sa-vs-nz-can-south-africas-middle-order-pull-off-a-stunning-chase-to-reach-the-final\/","title":{"rendered":"Champions Trophy 2025, SA vs NZ: Can South Africa\u2019s middle order pull off a stunning chase to reach the final?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mitchell Santner is turning the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final in New Zealand\u2019s favor, picking up three key wickets to derail South Africa\u2019s chase of 363 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. With the Proteas now struggling at 166\/4 after 29 overs, the Black Caps have tightened their grip on a potential final showdown with India.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bavuma\u2019s dismissal opens the floodgates<\/b><\/h3>\n

Temba Bavuma (56 off 71) was the first to fall to Santner\u2019s brilliance. The South African captain attempted an aggressive loft over cover but was undone by the dip and flight. His mistimed shot found Kane Williamson at backward point, handing New Zealand a vital breakthrough in the 23rd over.<\/span><\/p>\n

Van der Dussen bamboozled by a ripper<\/b><\/h3>\n

Santner followed up with an absolute gem to send Rassie van der Dussen (69 off 66) back to the pavilion. Bowling at nearly 90 kph, the left-arm spinner got one to straighten after angling into middle and leg, knocking over Van der Dussen\u2019s stumps. The batter, looking to work it towards the leg side, was completely beaten by the turn and precision.<\/span><\/p>\n

Klaasen\u2019s early exit adds to South Africa\u2019s woes<\/b><\/h3>\n

Santner\u2019s impact continued as he dismissed Heinrich Klaasen (3 off 7) in the 29th over. Klaasen, known for his prowess against spin, attempted a pull shot off a slightly short delivery but failed to middle it. The ball skewed off the bottom of his bat towards long-on, where Matt Henry sprinted in and completed a sliding catch. However, Henry landed awkwardly on his right shoulder and appeared to be in significant pain after the effort.<\/span><\/p>\n

South Africa in deep trouble<\/b><\/h3>\n

At 166\/4 after 29 overs, South Africa faces an uphill battle with Aiden Markram (18*) and new batter David Miller at the crease. With a place in Sunday\u2019s final against India on the line, the Proteas will need a special effort to stay in the hunt. Meanwhile, Santner (3\/32 in 7 overs) continues to be New Zealand\u2019s game-changer, bringing them closer to a historic final appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mitchell Santner is turning the 2025 Champions Trophy semi-final in New Zealand\u2019s favor, picking up three key wickets to derail\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":385,"featured_media":31542,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cricket"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/385"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}