SA vs NZ | Twitter reacts as Kiwis warm-up for tri-series final with breezy win over Proteas

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk,SportsCafe Editor

29

New Zealand maintained their unbeaten run in the Zimbabwe T20I tri-series as they beat South Africa by seven wickets in Harare on Tuesday. While their bowlers restricted the Proteas, Tim Seifert and Daryl Mitchell finished things off to ensure a third consecutive win in the series for the Kiwis.

‌New Zealand won the toss and chose to field first against the Proteas at Harare Sports Club. The South African team changed their opening pair in the game as Rassie van der Dussen came into bat with Reeza Hendricks in place of Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who was sent down the batting order. However, the change in the lineup did not lead to any rewards for the Rainbow Nation as the South African skipper was dismissed by a beautifully executed yorker by Adam Milne in the third over. The Kiwis managed to keep a lid on the scoring until the sixth over which went for 16 runs thanks to some attractive shots by Rubin Herman off Jacob Duffy, taking them to 34 runs for the loss of one wicket in the powerplay. However, a mini collapse followed thereafter as New Zealand skipper Mitchell Santner bowled a terrific maiden, which also saw the run-out of Hermann due to some fielding by Mark Chapman. Though Hendricks tried to hold his own at one end, he continued losing partners as the Blackcaps continued to chip wickets. The South African innings never looked to be going anywhere, especially after Hendricks was eventually dismissed for 41 in the 17th, and the 2024 T20 World Cup finalists were left struggling at 109/7. In the end, it was a cameo from George Linde that took them to te modest score of 134/8 as Santner, Jacob Duffy, and Milne ended the innings with two wickets apiece.

Unlike South Africa, the Black Cps got off to a flier in the powerplay. Both Devon Conway and Tim Seifert chose to play their shots and put the bowlers under pressure. Though Seifert got a bit lucky as he was dropped twice during the period, which included a simple chance for Andile Simelane and a half chance in the fourth over bowled by Gerald Coetzee, he made those chances count by continuing to score runs in the middle. It was a great powerplay for the Blackcaps, scoring 55 runs in the first six overs with the loss of just one wicket of Conway who was dismissed by Simelane in the sixth over. The Proteas threatened a brief comeback when Senuran Muthusamy got the wickets of Rachin Ravindra and Mark Chapman for cheap, but Seifert continued to steady the innings alongside Daryl Mitchell. The two batters eventually completed the chase comfortably with Seifert remaining unbeaten on a well made half century and Mitchell playing another useful cameo to ensure a third consecutive win in the series and second win against South Africa.

Victory!

Excellent!

Fifty!

Best Bowling fig!

700 !

Huge !

72!

Joins the list!

Yes!

On fire!

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