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South Africa should have no ill effects from their whistlestop and, in the end, pointless 18-hour trip to Dubai as they prepare to face New Zealand in Lahore in Wednesday's second semi-final of the Champions Trophy, according to batter Heinrich Klaasen.
New Zealand's Chris Gaffaney and England's Richard Illingworth have been named as on-field umpires for the first 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal between India and Australia in Dubai, said the International Cricket Council (ICC). For Tuesday's semifinal at the Dubai International Stadium, Michael Gough will serve as third umpire, while Andy Pycroft will take up the match referee's duties. Illingworth continues in Dubai, having overseen India's Group A clash with New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday. Gaffaney, on the other hand, had been due to umpire Australia's meeting with South Africa in Group B before it was abandoned due to rain in Rawalpindi.
Kenya named former South Africa international Benni McCarthy as coach on Monday, some three weeks before they resume their World Cup qualification campaign.
Rohit Sharma's childhood coach Dinesh Lad said making fat-shaming comments on the Indian captain "damages the image of the country". The uproar follows after Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed made a distasteful remark during India's Champions Trophy final Group A match against New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday. Congress spokesperson took to X to blatantly call the Indian skipper "fat". “Rohit Sharma is fat for a sportsman! Need to lose weight! And of course the most unimpressive Captain India has ever had,” Shama wrote in a post on X which she later deleted following a backlash.
Senior batter Tom Latham said New Zealand will take confidence from their recent win over South Africa in the tri-series when they face the same opponents in the semifinal of the Champions Trophy in Lahore on Wednesday. New Zealand lost to India by 44 runs in their final Group A match here on Sunday but Latham said it would have no bearing on the semifinal. Recently, New Zealand successfully chased 305 against South Africa in Lahore and then went on to win the tri-series, beating Pakistan in the final, and Latham feels those experiences will hold them in good stead on Wednesday.
The Indian cricket team booked their Champions Trophy 2025 semifinal berth without a single loss after they defeated New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday. India are the only side in the competition till now who have won all three of their encounters. However, there has been claims of 'unfair advantage' from both past and current players due to the fact that India are playing all of their games in Dubai. The Indian government did not allow the national side to travel to Pakistan and the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to host the competition in a 'hybrid manner'. Ex-England cricketers like Naseer Hussain and Mike Atherton were not pleased with the scheduling while Jos Buttler and South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen also echoed similar sentiments when asked about the topic.
India star Virat Kohli bagged the 'Fielder of the Match' medal for his contributions in the fielding in India's Champions Trophy last group stage win against New Zealand on Sunday. Varun Chakaravarthy's five-wicket haul led India to a 44-run win over New Zealand, finishing at the top of Group A in the tournament. They now face Australia in the first semi-final, in Dubai on Tuesday, while New Zealand will face South Africa in Lahore on Wednesday.
Champions Trophy 2025 will be remembered for the ages to come. The 50-over format tournament returned after a hiatus of eight years and saw numerous controversies even before the beginning. Defending champions Pakistan, who clinched the title in the 2017-edition, were the only hosts but India's games were played in Dubai due to the political tension between the two nations. As per the expectations, Rohit Sharma and co gave an exemplary performance and entered the semi-finals after remaining unbeatable in the league stage.