Rachin Ravindra, Kane Williamson Star as New Zealand Post 362/6 Against South Africa in Champions Trophy Semifinal:

The superb batting performance from Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson, followed by cameo contributions from Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips, led New Zealand to 362 for 6 against South Africa in their second semifinal clash in the Champions Trophy. New Zealand was comfortable scoring, clearly relishing a strike rate that was over 6 runs per 10 balls, after the incredible .164 partnership between Ravindra and Williamson. With 110 runs scored in the death overs in Lahore New Zealand was easily able to post a total that they would be happy defending.

New Zealand went into the match unchanged and as expected got off to a decent start after winning the toss and opting to bat first - a decision that has suited them in the tournament so far. After a cautious start, Ravindra shifted a gear and began to bat aggressively, with his eye particularly on Marco Jansen. Hitting three stunning boundaries off of the left-arm pacers over, he brought his side back in control, and at the other end, Will Young hit a few opening short attempts from the pace bowler. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, Ngidi came into the game and broke the partnership with a slower delivery that was, quite frankly, massively misfired by Young.

Winning the match for South Africa felt effortlessly easy, especially after Williamson’s two boundary flicks off Kagiso Rabada. Ravindra seemed possessive as he hit Wiaan Mulder for three crisp boundaries within one over. Boundaries stopped for some time when Keshav Maharaj was introduced, but he too fell victim to being hit by both Ravindra and Williamson for sixes.

Both Williamson and Ravindra accomplished fulfilling milestones, which for Williamson was even more special. Each of Ravindra’s five ODI centuries came in ICC tournaments, while for Williamson the cut he hit from Rabada stood out among the many hits he played as it was his 15th ODI ton. Ravindra let go of the final throttle shocking everyone by leaving the game with a score of 108. Even at a soaring age of 31, Williamson showcases no sign of stopping as he continues to awe audiences by hitting his third successive ton against South Africa. The domineering attribute of the innings is possessed by the sheer rate at which the former captain scored his second fifty, taking just thirty opposing 30 balls.

Although, with striked three times, he could not move forward towards the death phase as he attempted to scoop for the third time, only to mistime the shot and become a victim of a fuller delivery. Subsequently, that very same shot led to the self-destruction of Tom Latham, the keeper-batter, who failed to defend a delivery entailing good length and was subsequently bowled out by Rabada. Having lost both the centurions and Latham, New Zealand really required Mitchell to step up and take on the aggressive batting.

Mitchell, like most others, had some trouble putting the ball in the boundary, but was finally able to do so with his 27th delivery. After achieving that which helped him get the lead he longed for, Phillip put forth an incredible performance taking apart Ngidi for 646 before striking another boundary off Jansen. Phillips also got in on the action by blasting four consecutive boundaries off Jansen. After Mitchell’s departure Phillips kept the score ticking without any resistance as New Zealand set a staggering 83 runs in the last 6 overs, taking their total to 362.

Partial scores: South Africa vs New Zealand 362/6 in 50 overs (Glenn Phillips 49*, Rachin Ravindra 108, Kane Williamson 102; Lungi Ngidi 3/72)