Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Proteas’ T20 Tri-Series game against New Zealand at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday was meant to be used to polish a few shortcomings in their game, but the result left more questions than answers.
They slumped to a seven-wicket defeat, the second time the Black Caps had got one over them in the series. They will have a few days to debrief and strategise to ensure the visitors do not make it three on the bounce in Saturday’s final.
From the outset, the Black Caps showed positive intent in their chase of 135 and reached their target with a huge 25 balls to spare.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert was the engineer of the Proteas’ downfall with his unbeaten 66 runs off 48 balls, including six fours and two sixes. He and Devon Conway came out of the blocks like a bullet train. Any loose delivery was punished appropriately.
They ensured New Zealand passed the 50-run mark within five overs. Conway, who was the less aggressive of the two, eventually fell, throwing the kitchen sink at Andile Simelane’s fullish, wide delivery outside off which was caught behind by Lhuan-dre Pretorius for 19.
Senuran Muthusamy gave SA some hope soon after the powerplay with the dismissals of Rachin Ravindra for three and Mark Chapman for 10. But that did not slow Seifert who continued to score at a high tempo, moving to his 11th T20i career fifty, which helped secure the win.
Disciplined bowling from the Black Caps in the opening and middle periods ensured the Proteas were restricted to 134/8, their second-lowest first-innings total of the series.
Shukri Conrad and his management team shuffled the batting order by moving Pretorius down the line-up to number five after he opened previously with returns of 0, 27 and 4.
That saw Reeza Hendricks (41) getting the ball rolling for the team along with captain Rassie van der Dussen.
The experiment did not pay off as Van der Dussen, who had scored a half century in the previous game against Zimbabwe, was sent packing for just 14 runs in the third over.
His off-stump was uprooted after swinging wildly at an Adam Milne delivery.
The Black Caps’ decision to bowl was the right one as they made good on the Harare surface.
They suffocated the Proteas’ top order, leading to a period of 15 balls where they failed to score a boundary.
Hendricks eventually broke those shackles in the fifth over with a maximum, with the Proteas going to 34/1 in the first powerplay.
Five balls later, the Proteas hero from Sunday, Rubin Hermann, was brilliantly run out by Chapman for 10.
That sparked a domino effect in the wickets’ column for SA, as they lost Dewald Brevis for 13 after edging Will O’Rouke behind to Seifert. This was followed by Pretorius’s soft dismissal for a single to Mitch Santner, leaving the Proteas in a spot of bother at 57/4 after 10 overs.
Hendricks remained resolute as the New Zealand spinners and pacers turned the screws. But he lost another partner in Simelane, trapped leg before wicket by Santner for 11, before he combined with George Linde for a 30-run stand in 16 balls, the highest of the innings.
Hendricks would eventually fall while hunting down his half-century as he slapped a Jacob Duffy ball straight to Michael Bracewell at cover in the 16th over. He faced 37 balls and struck four fours and a six.
Duffy also accounted for Gerald Coetzee’s first baller. Muthusamy followed soon after, but Linde, who finished with an unbeaten 23, ensured there was no further damage by the men from the land of the long white cloud.
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