India, New Zealand To battle In Title Clash; Williamson, Rachin Centuries Help New Zealand Beat South Africa
India and New Zealand are set to clash in a major tournament final in white-ball cricket for the first time in 25 years. David Miller’s century went in vain as New Zealand beat South Africa by 50 runs to set up the Champions Trophy final date with India. Chasing 363, South Africa never really prove to be a threat, despite Miller’s face-saving century. Miller reached triple figures on the final ball of the match. Earlier, Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra’s centuries powered New Zealand to 362/6.
New Zealand, who lost their last Group A match against India, will now have the opportunity to avenge that defeat when they take on Rohit Sharma and his men at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.India and New Zealand have met twice before in ICC tournament finals. The last time they faced each other in a title match was in the 2021 ICC World Test Championship final in Southampton, where a Kane Williamson-led New Zealand outclassed India by eight wickets in a rain-affected contest that stretched over six days.
Interestingly, the last time these two teams played in a white-ball tournament final was in the 2000 ICC Knockout Trophy in Nairobi. On that occasion, New Zealand defeated India by four wickets to secure their first ICC title. India, led by Sourav Ganguly, posted 264/6 in 50 overs, with Ganguly scoring 117 and Sachin Tendulkar adding 69.
India appeared poised for a bigger total, but the middle order, comprising Rahul Dravid, Vinod Kambli, and Yuvraj Singh, failed to capitalise. New Zealand, captained by Stephen Fleming, successfully chased the target, thanks to Chris Cairns’ unbeaten 102 off 113 balls. Cairns played a match-winning knock despite battling injuries.
