New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner says his side have reached their first target of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and now they plan to stick with the same formula they’ve gone with as they seek to go one step closer to the final.
“The first goal was to make the semi-finals here,” Santner told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final clash against South Africa in Lahore.
“We had good preparations and we’ve played 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. We know it’s going to be a challenge come tomorrow but I think what we’ve been doing has been good.”
Looking at the pitch in Lahore, Santner says he expects more pace and bounce for the quicker bowlers, and hinted that his team is unlikely to change too much. He however added that he is confident that he has the squad to adapt if there are any late changes in conditions.
“We’ll see how it shapes up, but I think it’s going to be a pretty good wicket,” he said.
New Zealand started off their Champions Trophy win with a convincing win over Pakistan, before breezing past Bangladesh to secure qualification in the knockouts.
Santner and co finished the group stage as the second ranked side behind India while the Proteas topped Group B with five points.
The New Zealand captain said they are ready for any sort of attack, be it spin or pace. The conditions may be more suited for pacers in Lahore compared to Dubai where it favoured the spinners.
“Yeah, 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 a set-up.
“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.”