'New Zealand really put us under pressure' - Temba Bavuma disappointed as South Africa 'choke' again

In the second semi-final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Temba Bavuma-led South Africa National Cricket Team locked horns with the Mitchell Santner-led New Zealand National Cricket Team.

The high-profile ICC Champions Trophy 2025 match between South Africa and New Zealand was hosted at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Wednesday, March 5.

Also Read: Watch: David Miller does ‘baby celebration’ after smashing fighting century in CT 2025 semi-final

South Africa 'choke' again in ICC knockout

After being invited to bowl first in the match, South Africa did a terrible job. The Proteas bowlers were made to look clueless by Rachin Ravindra (108), Kane Williamson (102), Daryl Mitchell (49), and Glenn Phillips (49) as the Kiwis registered the biggest score in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy.

Lungi Ngidi was the top performer with the ball as he bagged 3 wickets while Kagiso Rabada picked up 2 wickets and Wiaan Mulder took 1 wicket.

Chasing the target, South Africa lost Ryan Rickelton early but Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen stabilized the innings with their brilliant fifties.

However, after their dismissal, South Africa kept losing wickets at regular intervals and got stopped for 312/9 to lose the match by 50 runs. With this, South Africa once again faced a heartbreak in the ICC knockout match.

I do think it was above-par - Temba Bavuma on target

Speaking after the match, the South African skipper Temba Bavuma said that the Kiwis posted an above-par total on the board. He said:

"(On the target) I do think it was above-par. Probably if it was 350, we would have backed ourselves to chase the score. We had one or two partnerships today but we needed me or Rassie to go on and emulate what two of their batters did."

Temba Bavuma added that New Zealand put them under pressure from the very beginning and lauded their batters for doing a good job in the match.

"They really put us under pressure from the word go, the way they were able to pierce the off-side at the start and the way they played in the middle overs. Kudos to them, credit to their batters, Rachin and Williamson and even the batters who came in, Mitchell and Phillips," Temba Bavuma said.

Temba Bavuma further said that they needed to be more decisive while chasing and shouldn't have allowed New Zealand to dominate.

"We were 125/1 and me and Rassie were still batting. Unfortunately, we weren't able to set that foundation for them. A bit of a soft dismissal for me and a better dismissal for Rassie and we left too much for them in the end. Like I said in the beginning, like I mentioned that we were 125/1, we had to be more decisive, not give an opportunity for the opposition to come back and being ruthless. We needed to take care of the key moments in the game," Temba Bavuma said.

How Did South Africa Perform in the Previous ODI Match Against New Zealand?

South Africa succumbed to a six-wicket loss against New Zealand in their previous ODI match, which was part of the Pakistan Tri-nation series, in Lahore on February 10, 2025. Despite posting a good total of 304/6 on the board, thanks to Matthew Breetzke, the Proteas were unable to defend it.

Batting first, South Africa got off to a cautious start as the Kiwi bowlers ensured that they didn't score quick runs. Temba Bavuma (20) fell early, but the debutant Breetzke played a knock for the ages. He made his debut a sensational one, with his magnificent innings of 150 runs off 148 balls.

Jason Smith (41) and Wiaan Mulder (64) provided support to him, but South Africa’s innings lacked the acceleration needed in the middle overs. Hence, they fell short of a huge score.

Defending the target, South Africa’s bowling unit didn't perform well. The star bowlers Lungi Ngidi (0/54) and Tabraiz Shamsi (0/62) struggled to contain New Zealand’s batting.

Senuran Muthusamy (2/50) was the only bright spot, picking up key wickets, including Daryl Mitchell and Tom Latham in successive deliveries.

Eathan Bosch (1/33) and Junior Dala (1/47) also picked wickets, but the bowlers had no answers for Kane Williamson’s unbeaten 133 and Devon Conway’s 97 as New Zealand chased down the target comfortably with eight balls to spare.