SA vs NZ, Tri-series final | Twitterrati shocked as South Africa choke in Tri-series final against BlackCaps

South Africa won the toss and put New Zealand into bat in the final of the T20I tri-series. However, things did not start well for the Proteas as the duo of Tim Seifert and Devon Conway made sure their team got off to a great start. The Kiwi openers played some attractive shots, which also included the terrific scoop shot by Seifert of Kwena Maphaka, which cleared the boundary ropes for six. New Zealand finished the power play with a solid score of 52/0. Though Seifert was finally dismissed after South Africa skipper Rassie van der Dussen took a stunning catch at covers to break the opening partnership in the ninth over, Conway and Ravindra continued the run-flow as the Kiwis were in a solid position at the halfway stage at 85/1. Though Lungi Ngidi did manage to dismiss Devon Conway for 47 in the 12th over and returned in the 14th to take the wicket of Mark Chapman, Ravindra kept the momentum going as BlackCaps were in a good position with the score at 135/3 in 15 overs. South Africa gave themselves a chance in the last five overs as Rachin Ravindra was dismissed for 47 by Nandre Burger, and Michael Bracewell’s short cameo of 15 off 12 came to an end with a diving catch by George Linde. Though the Mitchell Santner-led side only managed 45 in the last five overs, they still ended their innings on a competitive score of 180/5. 

South Africa went back to their original opening pair of Reeza Hendricks and Lhuan-dre Pretorius. The duo might have struggled to get going initially as Kiwi pacers got a bit of bounce and movement of the surface, but they still managed to stay wicketless on a score of 46 at the end of six overs. The opening pair made up for their slow start in the following overs as Pretorius started to attack the bowlers with Hendricks playing anchor at the other end. Though the young left-hander was finally dismissed for a well-made 51 off 35 deliveries by Michael Bracewell, he got his team in a decent position halfway into the chase at 92/1. Despite the decent start, the Proteas innings started to falter in the next five overs, only managing to score 39 runs and lost two big wickets of Reeza Hendricks and van der Dussen as well. The required rate suddenly climbed as they needed 50 runs in the last 30 deliveries with the score at 131/3 after 15 overs. Rubin Hermann was dismissed on the first ball of the 16th over. While the Kiwis looked in control till the 18th over, Dewald Brevis scored 15 runs in the 19th over by Jacob Duffy, leaving only seven runs for the final over. However, there was another twist in the game as Matt Henry came in the final over to dismiss Brevis on 31 as he was caught on the boundary line by Michael Bracewell. This is where the drama started as the fifth delivery saw the back of George Linde, who was dismissed after another spectacular boundary line by Daryl Mitchell. In the end, Matt Henry kept his nerves as the Kiwis finally won the tri-series final by three runs in the end to lift the title.

Both dhawan and Brevis have bottled a 7 run chase in the last over🙏 

— Pushkar (@Musafirr_hu_yar) 

Happy

Matt Henry defended 7 runs in the final over against South Africa .



He conceded just 3 runs and took the wickets Dewald Brevis and Corbin Bosch.



New Zealand won the Tri-Nation T20Is series. 

— Kashif (@cricstate) 

Fighter

What a CHOKE !!!



South Africa couldn’t score just 7 runs in final over

And in 19th over they have hit 15 runs



Well done New Zealand for holding their nerve  

— Kd Voice (@Kd_Voice_) 

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