AI Simulation, SA vs NZ T20I Tri-series final | Dewald Brevis and Gerald Coetzee ensure title win

‌Pitch and Weather

The surface at Harare was on the drier side, offering some uneven bounce for the pacers early on and some grip and turn for the spinners in the middle overs. However, once the batters were set at the crease, run-scoring got slightly easier.

The conditions were cool and breezy, with the temperature around 21 degrees Celsius, and there was no sign of rain at the venue.

Toss

South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.

Lineups

South Africa: Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen (c), Rubin Hermann, Dewald Brevis, Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wk), George Linde, Senuran Muthusamy, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi.

New Zealand: Devon Conway, Tim Seifert (wk), Rachin Ravindra, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Zakary Foulkes, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy.

Match Report

South Africa skipper Rassie van der Dussen won the toss and decided to bat in hopes of being able to set a competitive total on board. The team decided to continue with the same opening pair as the previous game against the Black Caps. Unlike the last game, both Rassie and Reeza Hendricks looked in great touch and had a slow but productive power play with the score at 49/0 at the end of six overs. However, the tables turned in the middle overs as Kiwi skipper Mitchell Santner and  Ish Sodhi stemmed the run-flow. While Sodhi controlled the runs at one end, Santner got the big wickets of the South African captain and Rubin Hermann. Though the Proteas might not have lost a lot of wickets, they struggled to put runs on the board with the score at 63/2 at the end of 10 overs. At this stage, the Rainbow Nation needed someone to take the attack to the bowlers. This is where  Dewald Brevis came to the crease and started to punish the bowlers from ball one while Hendricks steadied the innings at the other end. Though the stand of 67 was finally broken as Hendricks was dismissed for 38 as he mistimed a slower delivery by Zakary Foulkes to be caught at short cover, Brevis continued his onslaught on the bowlers. The African Nation looked in a decent position with the young batters at the crease, and a score above 180 was looking possible. However, all it took was a double strike over from Matt Henry to get New Zealand back in the game. Henry dismissed Brevis on a well-made 44 of 26 with a well-executed yorker, and Lhuan-dre Pretorius followed suit in the next two deliveries by edging the ball straight to the keeper. The Proteas lost a flurry of wickets at the death as Foulkes returned in the 17th over to dismiss George Linde, and Henry took a returning catch to see the back of Corbin Bosch and complete his three-wicket haul. Though Gerald Coetzee managed to get a few shots away in the last over bowled by Jacob Duffy, the Proteas still felt that they might have been 10-12 runs short as they finished on a score of 171/8 in their 20 overs.

The Kiwis started their innings well with Devon Conway and Tim Seifert starting with some positive stroke-making. Though the opening stand was broken on a score of 46 in the fifth over by Lungi Ngidi, who dismissed Seifert with a well-directed bouncer, which was top-edged to the keeper. Rachin Ravindra was dismissed shortly in the following over by Corbin Bosch as he cut a short delivery straight into the hands of the point fielder. Though the two early wickets might have disappointed the Black Caps, they were still scoring at a healthy rate with the score at 56/2 in the first six overs. There might have been a bit of a worry for the Kiwis as they lost Conway for a score of 33 by Gerald Coetzee of a skiddy delivery that stayed low as the opener was struck plumb in front of his stumps. Mark Chapman and Daryl Mitchell got them back in the game with a crucial fourth-wicket partnership. However, the Proteas came back into the match with some tight overs from Linde, who broke the partnership in the 14th over by dismissing Mitchell for 27 and got the important wicket of Chapman, who was dismissed by missing a straighter one which crashed into his off stump for a well-made 45 off 29 deliveries. Though a few cameos from Santner and Foulkes slightly worried the Rassie van der Dussen-led side, Coetzee came back in the 18th over with some incredible toe-crushing yorkers to dismiss both batters. The Kiwis needed 14 runs in the last six, which was bowled by Ngidi. The over started well for the Kiwis as Henry started with a heave over mid-wicket, which went for six. However, the South African paceman kept his calm and dismissed him in the very next delivery. Ngidi, in the end, only gave one run in the next four deliveries as South Africa won the game by six runs to ensure they got their hands on the title.

Player of the Match

Gerald Coetzee was awarded the player of the match for his crucial cameo of 11 off seven and his incredible spell of 3/28 with the ball.

Scorecard