The probability of losing 14 consecutive tosses, which India have done in ODIs by losing the toss in the Champions Trophy semi-final against Australia. Their current streak of lost tosses began at the 2023 ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad, where they lost the toss against Australia.
Rohit Sharma was captain in 11 of those 14 matches, one behind Brian Lara's record for consecutive tosses lost as captain in men's ODIs (12).
5 Fifty-plus scores in knockout matches for Steven Smith at the ICC ODI events (World Cup and Champions Trophy), behind only Sachin Tendulkar (6).
1 Varun Chakravarthy is the first spinner to dismiss Travis Head in the first ten overs of an ODI innings. Head scored 135 runs off 115 balls against spin in the first ten overs in ODIs without being dismissed before falling to Varun. This dismissal came off the first ball Varun had bowled to Head in any format.
1 Runs Head scored off his first eleven balls, the fewest he has at that point in an ODI innings. However, he scored 38 runs in his next 22 balls until his dismissal.
161 Catches for Virat Kohli in ODIs – second-most as a fielder, going ahead of Ricky Ponting (160) and only behind Mahela Jayawardene's 218.
4 Dismissals for Marnus Labuschagne against Ravindra Jadeja in ODIs. Haris Rauf (4) is the only other bowler to dismiss Marnus as often as Jadeja in this format. Marnus scored 120 runs against Jadeja across ten innings while striking at 66.67.
9 Balls faced by Cooper Connolly before falling for a duck, all off Mohammed Shami. Connolly had played and missed six straight balls before edging one to KL Rahul.
300.00 Strike rate of Australian batters while playing the sweep against India's spinners, as per ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball logs. They scored 48 runs off 16 sweep shots, with eight boundaries, including four sixes. It is the highest strike rate for any team playing the sweep against spinners in a men's ODI since 2015, for a minimum of 15 such shots.
Alex Carey scored 21 off seven sweep shots, with three fours and a six. In the previous match, New Zealand's batters scored only 13 runs off the sweep shot despite attempting it 22 times.
7 Not-in-control shots for Smith in 11 balls he faced from Shami, whom he got out to eventually. He was comfortable against the other Indian bowlers, with only nine not-in-control shots off 85 balls against them.Big picture: Run fest awaits SA, NZ
Here we are again. South Africa and New Zealand, the two best sides to have never won a World Cup, meet in a knockout match. Both have had their hands on this trophy all the way back when it was called the ICC Knockout and possibly meant something else in terms of its significance in the global game. So make no mistake: winning this will not take away the desire for the big one but it will help to tide things over until 2027, when South Africa co-host the event with neighbours Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Quietly, South Africa know they are actually building for that but the pressure to return home with something other than disappointment is ever-present. This is another chance to change that. New Zealand, after coming so close to the trophy at the 2019 World Cup, also carry scars but somehow seem less burdened by them. Perhaps a smaller population, with fewer socio-economic fractures that can be plastered over with sporting success helps them; maybe they're just good at stoicism. Those are things to ponder later in the week when one of these two teams will play a final against a yet-to-be-decided opposition at a yet-to-be-decided venue. For now, they've both probably got the knockout they wanted.
Facing each other, rather than India or Australia, appears to give them both a better chance of progressing to the final. And doing it in Pakistan, though both teams travelled from Dubai at different times on Monday, likely suits them more. Conditions are good for run-scoring and both have line-ups capable of posting big scores which suggests fans will be in for a run-fest. Their attacks are similarly matched to the point where both were hit by injury-enforced absences amongst the quicks. Some of the more interesting narratives could be around which of the tall men – Marco Jansen and Kyle Jamieson – can extract the most with their height or which of the attacking bowlers, Kagiso Rabada or Matt Henry, has the most success.A difference could come in the spin resources, where South Africa have chosen to operate with only one specialist in Keshav Maharaj but New Zealand have both captain Mitchell Santner and offspinner Michael Bracewell in their best XI. Maharaj had previously indicated he sees a spinners role as a more defensive one at this event so their economy rates are the numbers to watch here.
Overall, this match promises an even contest without the hype that comes with playing a big three nation even though there is plenty of history. New Zealand dumped South Africa out of both the 2011 and 2015 World Cups and though the likes of us will talk about it, it's worth remembering that the last of those was ten years ago and much cricket has been played since.
Then, particularly for South Africa, the results seemed seismic. Now, ICC events happen annually and teams are dusting themselves off and starting again with much greater frequency. Does that mean it matters less if you lose at a crucial stage or even if you win? Ask one of these two, who have both spent the best part of the last three decades trying to win a major trophy and they're likely to say no. Only one of them will have the chance to do it this time.Form guide
South Africa: WWLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first) New Zealand: LWWWW
In the spotlight: David Miller and Kane Williamson
No one has quite said it yet but could this be the last time 35-year-old David Miller plays in an ODI tournament for South Africa? And if so, what kind of say will he have on it? He has limited opportunity in the tournament so far. He came to bat in the 43rd over against Afghanistan only to smash the winning runs against England, but has had almost-decisive knocks in both South Africa's previous white-ball knockout games. At the 2023 ODI World Cup, Miller's century gave South Africa something to defend in the semi-final after they were reduced to 24 for 4; at the 2024 T20 World Cup, he was looking good on 21 off 17 balls before being spectacularly caught on the boundary which could have taken South Africa within touching distance of the trophy. Miller has shown he enjoys the big occasion and has also indicated he is taking things year by year, so chances to play in knockouts are likely becoming fewer. After all his efforts, he will want to play a role in South Africa winning one.lThe NZ wicketkeeper-batter backs his team to adapt to different surfaces in Lahore and Dubai in the Champions Trophy knockouts
Kane Williamson has back-to-back ODI centuries against South Africa, albeit they were scored six years apart. He made 106* against them in Birmingham in June 2019 and 133* against them at this venue in the tri-series that preceded this tournament, though that was not against a full-strength South African side. Overall, Williamson averages 57.35 against South Africa, his best against any opposition other than Zimbabwe. Though New Zealand have a line-up of creative and crafty hitters, Williamson's role in New Zealand's side continues to be of utmost importance as evidenced by his 81 against India in Dubai, where he kept New Zealand in the fight in what was ultimately a losing cause.
Like many of the more experienced players at this event, at 34, Williamson may not get another opportunity to win an ODI trophy and will want to make the most of this one.
Team news
Openers Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi have both recovered from the illness that kept them out of the England game and are expected to be available for selection but there may be no room for de Zorzi unless Aiden Markram is unavailable. Markram hurt his hamstring while in the field against England and will undergo a fitness test at training on Tuesday evening while George Linde has been called up as a travelling reserve. The bowling make-up – two allrounders, one specialist spinner and two quicks – is expected to be unchanged.
South Africa (possible): 1 Temba Bavuma (capt), 2 Ryan Rickelton, 3 Rassie van der Dussen, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 David Miller, 7 Wiaan Mulder, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Lungi NgidiNew Zealand's only question will be which one of Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway or Daryl Mitchell they will leave out. Conway sat out the India match for Mitchell, who played against Pakistan but not Bangladesh. Young and Ravindra both have centuries to their names at this competition which suggests the decision is between Mitchell and Conway, who has scores of 30 and 10 from his outings in the tournament.
New Zealand: 1 Will Young, 2 Rachin Ravindra/Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Daryl Mitchell, 5 Tom Latham (wk), 6 Glenn Phillips, 7 Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner (capt), 9 Matt Henry, 10 Kyle Jamieson, 11 Will O'Rourke
Pitch and conditions
In five ODIs this year, the average first innings score is 316.5 and results have been shared between the team batting first and the chasing team. It's expected to be another belter for the batters and tough outing for bowlers. While Heinrich Klaasen mentioned some drizzle on South Africa's arrival in the city on Monday, the forecast is mild and clear for the semi-final.
Stats and trivia
South Africa and New Zealand have played no bilateral white-ball cricket against each other since 2017 but played each other at the 2019 and 2023 World Cups and won a game a piece and the Pakistan tri-nation series, in a match which New Zealand won. In ICC tournaments, they have met 11 times, and New Zealand have won seven of those games.
South Africa are the only country to have qualified for the knockouts of all of the last seven ICC events – across men's, women's and Under-19 tournaments. That includes the 2023 men's ODI World Cup semi-final, the 2024 men's T20 World Cup final, the 2025 World Test Championship final, the 2024 men's Under-19 World Cup semi-final, the 2024 women's T20 World Cup final and the 2025 women's Under-19 final.
Quotes
"Scheduling is an issue all around but when you do have time to rest and recover, you should. One day cricket can be quite exhausting on the body, and for us, it might be about making sure bowlers are ready for tomorrow. I don't think they're going to be doing much today in training."New Zealand travelled back to Pakistan from Dubai early on Monday morning and will use Tuesday to recuperate rather than train heavily according to captain Mitchell Santner.Pakistan have shuffled the deck once more in an attempt to find the right T20I combination, dropping captain Mohammad Rizwan as well as Babar Azam for the five-match series in New Zealand.
In the first squad announced since Pakistan's ignominious exit from a home Champions Trophy, there are several changes, including the return of Shadab Khan – also appointed vice-captain, and the awarding of the T20I captaincy to Rizwan's deputy Salman Agha. On the ODI front, Rizwan retains his captaincy, but Shaheen Afridi has been dropped.
According to a PCB release, Mohammad Haris returns after an extended spell out of the national side, while Saim Ayub remains absent with the ankle injury he picked up in South Africa. Hasan Nawaz, the 22-year old wicketkeeper who has played just 21 T20s, is in the squad. Abdul Samad, the 27-year-old big-hitting batter who is also yet to play PSL cricket, comes in after a positive domestic T20 tournament showing. Quetta Gladiators batter Omair Yousuf earns a call-up as Pakistan pivot sharply away from their experienced batters in the format.
There are fewer changes in the bowling department, with the make-up roughly the same as it was for their recent T20I series in South Africa. Afridi and Haris Rauf are part of the squad, but Naseem Shah – who last played T20Is against Australia in November – remains absent. Spinners Sufiyaan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed retain their places, while Khushdil Shah comes into the side.These changes bring an end to an unhappy, if brief, stint as T20I captain for Rizwan. He led Pakistan as full-time captain in just four completed T20Is, losing all of them. He was absent for the three T20Is in Zimbabwe, with Agha leading the team as Pakistan won 2-1.
Babar's absence, too, suggests Pakistan are once again looking to break free of the Babar-Rizwan combination at the top of the order. The duo have polarised opinion almost as soon as the combination was set up in 2020. Critics have panned them for being too-risk averse at the start in T20Is, but their reliability and consistency of run accumulation, set in contrast against an oft-misfiring middle order, had seen Pakistan continue to return to them.
The ODI squad doesn't include such drastic changes, except for the omission of Afridi. He was Pakistan's best bowler in their ODI series wins in South Africa and Australia. Rizwan retains the ODI captaincy and Babar is in the squad, while Abdullah Shafique returns after being dropped for the Champions Trophy. Left-arm quick Akif Javed earns a maiden ODI squad selection while Sufiyaan Muqeem returns as well.
Pakistan play five T20Is in New Zealand starting March 16, followed by three ODIs.
Pakistan T20I squad: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Agha (capt), Irfan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyaan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan ODI squad: Mohammad Rizwan (capt), Salman Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir.