New Zealand is heading into their Champions Trophy semi-final against South Africa in Lahore with confidence, drawing on their strong performances in the recent Pakistan tri-series, coach Gary Stead said on Tuesday.
Three weeks ago, New Zealand defeated a different South African lineup by six wickets at the same venue, following a warm-up victory over Pakistan.
“We’re fortunate to have some prior experience playing here before the tournament started,” Stead shared in a virtual press conference. “It gives us some on-ground familiarity and positive emotions to build on.”
Despite a loss to India on a spin-friendly surface in Dubai, New Zealand was pleased with their pace attack. The trio of Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, and Will O’Rourke effectively restricted India to 249-9, demonstrating their ability to control strong batting lineups.
Stead, who is also a selector, indicated that the team is likely to retain the same bowling combination, supplementing it with spin options from their all-rounders, a strategy that worked against India and Bangladesh.
New Zealand has successfully posted 300-plus totals in Lahore in their recent matches, and Stead emphasized the importance of early and middle-over breakthroughs to curb South Africa’s batting strength.
“We haven’t assessed the pitch yet to determine if it’s a used surface, but overall, these wickets are good for batting with relatively low bounce,” he noted.
South Africa will feature a different squad than in the tri-series, and left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who has yet to play in the tournament, could be brought in for pacer Lungi Ngidi.
“They are a very strong side, and we’ll need to be at our absolute best to overcome them,” Stead added.
