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Ravindra, Williamson tons set up final date with India
A clinical performance with both bat and ball saw New Zealand beat South Africa in the second semifinal in Lahore to reach the Champions Trophy 2025 final. Centuries from Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson saw New Zealand post an imposing 362 on the board. Their spinners then delivered in unison to seal the deal in New Zealand’s favour but the margin of victory was significantly brought down to just 50 runs right at the end after David Miller went berserk for an unbeaten 67-ball ton – the fastest in Champions Trophy history.
South Africa were under the pump in the chase right from the outset. Matt Henry posed some questions and Kyle Jamieson began by bowling a maiden. The jittery start resulted in Ryan Rickelton falling early as he mistimed an off cutter from Henry to hit it straight to cover. Rassie van der Dussen started off with a boundary first ball and Temba Bavuma, who was batting on 3 off 18 at one stage, finally broke the shackles with a lovely on drive that reached the boundary.
Despite scoring only 36 from the first eight overs, South Africa redeemed themselves in that first PowerPlay with both Bavuma and van der Dussen collecting a few boundaries. While William O’Rourke was targetted, the South Africans just couldn’t put the spinners away. First, it was Michael Bracewell who kept bowling one tidy over after another. And when he was joined by Mitchell Santner, things got even harder for the batting side.
Despite the good start by the spin duo, South Africa were still in the game when both the set batters brought up their respective half-centuries. But the chase fizzled out when Santner removed both the batters in a matter of a few overs. Slowing down the pace considerably, Santner managed to eke out some turn from this surface to account for Bavuma’s dismissal before managing to breach van der Dussen’s defence.
At that point, South Africa literally needed something special from Heinrich Klaasen to pull off a spectacular win. However, the New Zealand skipper stood tall for his side yet again and came out on top of a much anticipated one-on-one clash against the maverick South African keeper-batter, who mistimed one straight to long on. From thereon, it was one-way traffic as Bracewell then rounded off his spell with a wicket before the likes of Ravindra and Glenn Phillips joined the party as well by combining for three more dismissals.
Any amount of substantial interest still left in the contest, which was dead and buried by then, was down to Miller potentially lighting up the skies with a few big ones. With just the tail to bat with, Miller stunned the opposition and the small crowd that was still present out there despite knowing the outcome. Batting on 47 off 43 by the end of the 46th over, Miller farmed the strike for the major part of the next 24 deliveries and took on Jamieson and O’Rourke for a flurry of boundaries. Needing 18 from the final six deliveries for a spectacular century, the South African finisher got the job done when he needed 2 from the final ball. His heroics significantly reduced the loss margin which at one stage looked like it would be beyond 100.
Earlier in the day, an efficient batting performance from New Zealand saw them put up a massive total. Ravindra looked in great touch right from the start and even though South Africa, for a brief period, pulled back the run rate after getting rid of Will Young, New Zealand regained control once Williamson got going.
Ravindra in particular was in a murderous mood as he kept finding the boundary with Williamson playing second fiddle. Keshav Maharaj, who put the lid on the scoring rate for a while, was taken apart by the duo eventually as they hit him for a six each. In the process, both batters brought up landmarks as Williamson got to his fifty off 61 deliveries whereas Ravindra reached three figures for the fifth time in his ODI career with all five of those tons coming in ICC tournaments.
Williamson then took charge after Rabada’s departure with Daryl Mitchell biding his time at the other end. The former skipper repeatedly brought out the scoop and fetched success as he took only 31 balls for his second fifty. However, it was that same shot that proved to be his undoing as New Zealand now went into the death overs without both the set batters. At one point, it did seem like South Africa would capitalise on it before Mitchell and then later on Phillips went berserk to hammer 83 runs from the final six overs which meant New Zealand already had one foot in the final.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 362/6 in 50 overs (Rachin Ravindra 108, Kane Williamson 102, Glenn Phillips 49*, Will Young 21, Daryl Mitchell 49; Lungi Ngidi 3/72, Kagiso Rabad 2-70) beat South Africa 312/9 in 50 overs (David Miller 100*, Rassie van der Dussen 69, Temba Bavuma 56, Aiden Markram 31; Matt Henry 2-43, Mitchell Santner 3/43, Glenn Phillips 2-27) by 50 runs
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Udaygiri arrived at the Port of Colombo on an official visit today, 8 September 2026, where it was received by the Sri Lanka Navy in accordance with time-
honoured naval traditions.
INS Udaygiri is a 149.02m long Frigate, Commanded by Captain Vikas Sood. Meanwhile, the Commanding Officer of the visiting ship is scheduled to call on Commander Western Naval
Area, Rear Admiral Harsha De Silva at the Western Naval Command Headquarters.
Captain Sood served as the Defence Adviser at the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka from July 2020 to October 2023.
During their stay in the island, the crew of INS Udaygiri will participate in several goodwill events organized by the Sri Lanka Navy to enhance camaraderie between the two forces.
The visiting personnel are also scheduled to visit prominent tourist and cultural locations across the island.
Additionally, Sri Lanka Navy personnel are expected to visit the ship for capability observation and knowledge sharing, and will conduct onboard training during its stay.
Harshitha Samarawickrema’s splendid 48 not out off 37 balls took Sri Lanka over the line in a low-scoring thriller against Bangladesh. The defending champions secured a semi-final berth with a four-wicket win, and by virtue of topping Group B, will play the side that finishes second in Group A on Friday.
An excellent opening spell of 2 for 17 from Marufa Akter put Bangladesh in firm control of the match after they posted a below-par target of 115, thanks to Chamudi Prabodha’s career-best figures of 3 for 21.
Sri Lanka found themselves behind the required run rate for much of the chase after losing their top order inside the powerplay and slipping to five down by the tenth over. But a resolute Samarawickrama brought Sri Lanka back into the contest by absorbing the pressure throughout the middle overs before landing the final punches to seal the win. This was Sri Lanka’s seventh consecutive win over Bangladesh.
Praboda strangles Bangladesh
This was only the sixth international match the 17-year-old left-arm spinner had played after making her debut against Pakistan in a three-match T20I series last month, and she doubled her tally of wickets on Sunday.
As Bangladesh looked to rebuild after Juairiya Ferdous fell in the fifth over, Praboda struck in her first over, the seventh of the match, to send the dangerous-looking Dilara Akter back to the hut two balls after being hit for a boundary by her. Dilara made a run-a-ball 26 after adjusting to the slow surface. She made her attacking intent known in the third over when she dispatched three consecutive balls from Sri Lanka pacer Chethana Vimukthi for boundaries.
Praboda and the other Sri Lankan spinners bowled with great discipline and used their variations with great guile to put a stranglehold on the Bangladesh batters, who managed just 114 for 8.
With Sobhana Mostary (34 off 41) and Shorna Akter (9 off 14) stretching their steady 41-run stand into the death overs, the Bangladesh dugout must have anticipated a much bigger total than what they eventually managed. Their hopes were bulldozed by Praboda in her last over as she accounted for both batters inside three balls. The left-arm spinner bamboozled Mostary with flight to have her stumped before drawing Dilara into chipping a tossed-up delivery back to her.
An unlucky outing for Athapaththu
Nilakshi Silva and Vimukthi dropped sitters off Chamari Athapaththu’s bowling, with the former putting down Mostary in the 14th over. Athapaththu eventually got a wicket in her last over, but missed out on a second when on-field umpire Humaira Farah turned down a clear caught-behind appeal off the last ball of her spell.
During the chase, her stay at the crease lasted only two balls, as Fahima Khatun took a sharp catch at first slip when she advanced down the pitch to smash Marufa over the top of her head. That shot, on any other day, would have landed in the stands, as is often the case when Athapaththu charges at the bowlers.
Marufa turns a straightforward chase into a contest
Bangladesh needed early wickets to make a contest of what many expected to be a cakewalk for Sri Lanka, with the required rate below a run-a-ball at the start of the chase. Marufa delivered exactly what was needed, accounting for both Sri Lankan openers.
Marufa had Athapaththu caught at first slip off the last ball of the first over before bowling a jaffa in her next over, rattling Imesha Dulani’s stumps with one that ripped through the gate. Her three powerplay overs yielded 2 for 17.
Sri Lanka’s middle order crumbled under pressure as Sanjana Kavindi was bowled by Sultana Khatun off the last ball of the powerplay. They were soon five down for 44 in the tenth over, but a gutsy 38-run stand between Samarawickrama and Nilakshika Silva brought them back into the contest and threatened to take the game away from Bangladesh.
Desperate for a breakthrough, Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana returned to her trump card in the 17th over, and Marufa obliged with a perfect over to shift the momentum back in her side’s favour. The seamer bowled Silva and conceded only four runs to finish with career-best T20I figures of 3 for 21. It was the fourth time in her 48-match T20I career that she had taken three wickets in the format.
Samarawickrama finishes the job
Ritu Moni had been immaculate in her first three overs, but Samarawickrama plundered 16 runs off her last over – the most conceded in an over in the match – to swing the game in Sri Lanka’s favour.
A lucky inside edge off the second ball raced to the fine-leg boundary as Moni followed Samarawickrama after she backed away to make room on the off side. The next ball landed straight into the advertising cushion at midwicket as the batter swept the medium pacer for six. She then danced down the wicket to launch Nahida Akter for a towering six down the ground, reducing the equation to two off the final over.
The win came off the second ball of the final over, with the ball trickling past the keeper after brushing her pad.
Scores:
Sri Lanka Women 115 for 6 in 19.2 overs (Imesha Dulani 12, Harshitha Samarawickrama 48*, Nilakshika Silva 18, Kaushini Nuthyangana 11*; Marufa Akter 3-21, Sultana Khatun 1-14, Ritu Moni 1-29) beat Bangladesh Women 114 for 8 in 20 overs (Dilara Akter 26, Juairia Ferdous 14, Solbhana Mostary 34, Fahima Khatun 14; Sugandika Kumari 2-22, Chamari Athapaththu 1-20, Chamudi Praboda 3-21, Kavisha Dilhari 1-17) by four wickets
[Cricinfo]
Pakistan were bowled out for 55, their lowest total in T20I cricke. A collapse where they lost six wickets for eight runs in 29 balls set them so far back that they couldn’t even bat out 20 overs. Harmanpreet Kaur, who broke new ground by becoming the first player – male or female – to lead her team 150 times in T20Is, had the time of her life celebrating each wicket and eventually scoring the winning runs as well.
Shree Charani shines
Old-fashioned left-arm spin is having a resurgence. India men have found Manav Suthar. India women already had N Shree Charanin. The No. 1-ranked T20I bowler in the world picked up two wickets in her first over on Saturday.
The flight on the ball drew Gull Feroza out of her crease. The drift in had her looking leg side. The dip and the turn resulted in a leading edge and a simple catch to point. The bowler did everything right. The batter did everything wrong. Shawaal Zulfiqar was the only Pakistan batter to put any kind of pressure on India. Charani had her lbw for 14 off 14 and from there it was a procession.
Pakistan’s batting troubles
Playing their 200th T20I, Pakistan went from 27 for 0 to 35 for 6 before the innings was halfway done. They could not find a risk-free way to score runs, absorbing long periods of dot balls and trying to get out of it by playing low-percentage shots, often against the turn, on a Dubai pitch that was offering plenty of it. Only the openers got to double digits and only Zulfiqar was able to score a run a ball.
Rawat’s support act
Prema Rawat finished with figures of 4-0-9-3. Nineteen of her 24 balls were dots. All of that is remarkable considering she is a legspinner, whose release points tend to be just shy of the perpendicular. Like Shane Warne. From there, they turn their wrist over and it can either be awesome or awful. Rawat’s release point is perpendicular, maybe even beyond it, like Rashid Khan’s. And she doesn’t turn her wrist. For the most part, she just flicks the ball out the front of her hand. This gives her better control at the cost of big turn and in T20Is, that trade-off is well worth it. Nobody could hit Rawat off her line and length and when Sadaf Shamas tried, she got bowled off her pads.
A simple enough chase
Scores:
India Women 57 for 3 in 8.4 overs (Shafali Verma 12, Harmanpreet Kaur 18*, Deepti Sharma 12*; Fatima Sana 3-17) beat Pakistan Women in 18.1 overs 55 (Muneesha Ali 13, Shawal Zulfiqar 14, Shafali Verma 1-10, Shree Charani 3-07, Deepti Sharma 2-05, Prema Rawat 3-09) by seven wickets
(Cricinfo)
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