Kane Williamson and David Miller met after New Zealand’s spectacular victory against South Africa guaranteed them a spot in the Champions Trophy 2025 final. Interestingly, Miller had not yet addressed the press, and Williamson had just finished his conference show.
With a friendly embrace and a warm smile, the two parted ways, one walking away triumphantly, the other carrying the sorrow of yet another lost chance. David Miller later acknowledged that he would be supporting New Zealand in the final, demonstrating the depth of that connection. Notably, the Kiwis will now play India in the Champions Trophy grand final, which is set for Sunday, March 9, in Dubai.
Although South Africa and New Zealand have always respected one another, David Miller opinion was probably sparked by their identical tournament attempts and conflicts. By alternating between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, both teams reduced their rigorous travel itineraries. Before heading back to Lahore early on Monday for their semi-final, New Zealand played India in their last group-stage match in Dubai on Saturday. In the meantime, South Africa took a plane from Karachi to Dubai on Sunday in the hopes of making it to the semi-finals, but they returned to Lahore after just 12 hours.
“I’ll tell you the truth. I believe I’ll be rooting for New Zealand. We had to take that flight after a game, even though it was only an hour and forty minutes. We had to take a flight back at 7:30 the following morning after landing at 4 p.m. It wasn’t the best. Miller was cited by ESPNCricinfo as saying, “It’s not like we had five hours to recover.”
I would prefer to have performed poorly and prevailed: David Miller
David Miller acknowledged that, despite his animosity, New Zealand was the superior team that day. In celebration of his son’s birth, he scored an undefeated 100* off 67 balls, but he said he would have exchanged it for a South African victory. After winning the toss, New Zealand took advantage of ideal conditions to set a lofty goal of 363 runs. It’s interesting to note that the South African was reluctant to predict the likely victor of the final when asked.
“I would have preferred to have lost and played poorly. Pursuing 360 degrees is not simple. We didn’t get as much purchase from the wicket as they did. Both of them make fantastic teams. India has long been exceptional. “This game is going to be fantastic,” David Miller said.
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