Temba Bavuma expressed disappointment over his “soft dismissal” and his inability to provide a solid foundation for South Africa’s middle order after their 50-run defeat to New Zealand in the Champions Trophy semi-final in Lahore.
Chasing a daunting 363, South Africa looked promising at 125 for 1 in the 23rd over. Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen had stitched together a 105-run stand for the second wicket, but both fell in quick succession, derailing their chase.
“Ideally, we would’ve wanted both of us to carry on at least until the 30th over,” Bavuma said at the post-match presentation. “We know how destructive our middle order can be in the last 20 overs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t provide that foundation. My dismissal was a bit soft, and that left too much for the middle order to do.”
Bavuma acknowledged that chasing 363 was always going to be a huge challenge, requiring strong partnerships throughout. Despite a stunning century from David Miller off just 67 balls, South Africa couldn’t find enough support from the rest of the batting lineup and ended at 312 for 9.
New Zealand’s innings was anchored by centuries from Rachin Ravindra (108) and Kane Williamson (102), and Bavuma admitted that South Africa needed one of their top-order batters to match that effort and bat deep.
“We felt anything under 350 was a chaseable score, but we just couldn’t build the partnerships needed,” he said. “Either Rassie or I had to go big and replicate what their top four did. With 360 on the board, we needed more than just one standout knock—David played brilliantly, but we needed someone else to step up too.”
Bavuma also credited New Zealand’s batters for putting South Africa under constant pressure. Along with Ravindra and Williamson, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips chipped in with quick 49s to push the target out of reach.
“They kept finding boundaries and put us under pressure right from the start,” Bavuma said. “We pride ourselves on taking wickets, especially in the middle overs, but we just couldn’t. With wickets in hand, they were able to go hard at the death, making it difficult for us to contain them. Credit to Kane, Rachin, and the others who kept the scoreboard ticking.”
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner praised Williamson for another match-winning performance.
“He keeps delivering for us,” Santner said. “That partnership with Rachin was massive. Even when he seemed frustrated, he found a way to keep going. They flipped the switch at the right time, and the finish pushed us to 360—whereas 320 might not have been enough.”
New Zealand will now face India in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday, in a rematch of the title clash from 25 years ago.
