137/2 (16.2)
CR : 8.39
136/9 (20.0)
CR : 6.80
New Zealand won by 8 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Lockie Ferguson
1/9
16.2
1
L Sipamla to N Kelly
Nick Kelly hits the winning runs for New Zealand. Around the wicket. Full around off. Kelly drives it along the ground to the fielder at mid on for a quick single. It turned out to be a completely one-sided contest here at Eden Park as New Zealand cruised to a dominant victory. They got over the line comfortably, winning the match by 8 wickets with 22 balls to spare. With this emphatic win, New Zealand now take a 2-1 lead in the 5-match T20I series against South Africa.
Over 17
New Zealand 137/2
Nick Kelly1(1)
Tom Latham63(55)
Lutho Sipamla1-26(2.2)
NZ won by 8 wickets
2:53 PM IST, 10:23 PM local time: New Zealand dominated South Africa at the Eden Park tonight — not an uncommon headline over the years in Rugby, however, given the Proteas' laudable record here in recent times, this loss will sting. The Men's team has followed the Women's team win from earlier in the day with an emphatic 8-wicket win.
Was it the visitors' failure to adapt to the idiosyncrasies of this peculiarly shaped ground? Did they fail to adjust to the pitch? Was form an issue? Or were the Blackcaps just better? Perhaps, it was a combination of all those things.
New Zealand were tested them with some hard lengths. South Africa were guilty of playing some poor shots, including trying to muscle the ball to the shorter straight boundary a few times. The extra bounce off the deck aggravated their problems and much like the first two matches of the series the top-order struggled to get going.
George Linde looked decent again, but could only score 23 (19) tonight. It was Nqobani Mokoena's courageous cameo of 26 (20) towards the end that propelled the visitors to a respectable score. Every New Zealand bowler who got the chance to roll his arm over picked a wicket at least. The run out chances they squandered did not hurt them either. Mitchell Santner (2/21), Lockie Ferguson (1/9) and Ben Sears (2/27) were the most impressive.
There was enough in the wicket for the South African bowlers to work with. Gerald Coetzee even started the innings with a probing over. He got the ball to swing at pace and delivered it in decent areas. However, both Devon Conway and Tom Latham were smart. They played out his and Nqobani Mokoena's overs before launching into Lutho Sipamla — who was playing his first game of the series. The first change seamers' first over produced 21 runs and from there, New Zealand never looked back. Dian Forrester putting down a straightforward chance added to the misery and eventually, the Proteas ended up conceding the game with 3.4 overs to spare. Latham scored his first T20I half-century since April 2023 and shepherd the team over the finish line.
Was it the visitors' failure to adapt to the idiosyncrasies of this peculiarly shaped ground? Did they fail to adjust to the pitch? Was form an issue? Or were the Blackcaps just better? Perhaps, it was a combination of all those things.
New Zealand were tested them with some hard lengths. South Africa were guilty of playing some poor shots, including trying to muscle the ball to the shorter straight boundary a few times. The extra bounce off the deck aggravated their problems and much like the first two matches of the series the top-order struggled to get going.
George Linde looked decent again, but could only score 23 (19) tonight. It was Nqobani Mokoena's courageous cameo of 26 (20) towards the end that propelled the visitors to a respectable score. Every New Zealand bowler who got the chance to roll his arm over picked a wicket at least. The run out chances they squandered did not hurt them either. Mitchell Santner (2/21), Lockie Ferguson (1/9) and Ben Sears (2/27) were the most impressive.
There was enough in the wicket for the South African bowlers to work with. Gerald Coetzee even started the innings with a probing over. He got the ball to swing at pace and delivered it in decent areas. However, both Devon Conway and Tom Latham were smart. They played out his and Nqobani Mokoena's overs before launching into Lutho Sipamla — who was playing his first game of the series. The first change seamers' first over produced 21 runs and from there, New Zealand never looked back. Dian Forrester putting down a straightforward chance added to the misery and eventually, the Proteas ended up conceding the game with 3.4 overs to spare. Latham scored his first T20I half-century since April 2023 and shepherd the team over the finish line.
Player of the Match: Lockie Ferguson
Lockie Ferguson (Player of the Match): "Yeah, it was a good day for us. It was great to be back here in Auckland. Great crowd tonight. Enjoyed it a lot.
(What brings out the best in him over here?) Well, the surface is really good for the fast bowlers over here. I got some extra bounce. The ground staff always do an excellent job over here. I always enjoy playing here. I love the crowd, I love the ground. That brings the best out of me.
(On the squad depth) Yeah, we have got great depth in the side. Obviously, Sears has done remarkably well in this series. I thought he bowled exceptionally well tonight. Kyle (Jamieson) bowled well too but I thought he was a bit unlucky today. He will come out well in the next couple of games.
(Is Lockie Ferguson the enforces in the bowling attack?) Umm, not really. It changes. I feel Sears is sometimes the enforcer too. He bowls at a great pace. I bowled well too. New Zealand cricket has a lot of talent and I am very fortunate to represent my country.
(On bowling an economical spell today) Well, when you are economical, you always try to hunt for wickets. I tried to get wickets tonight but it didn't happen. Happy with the figures tonight. Everyone bowled really well. Looking forward to the next game. I am sure the boys will be very keen to play on these wickets."
(What brings out the best in him over here?) Well, the surface is really good for the fast bowlers over here. I got some extra bounce. The ground staff always do an excellent job over here. I always enjoy playing here. I love the crowd, I love the ground. That brings the best out of me.
(On the squad depth) Yeah, we have got great depth in the side. Obviously, Sears has done remarkably well in this series. I thought he bowled exceptionally well tonight. Kyle (Jamieson) bowled well too but I thought he was a bit unlucky today. He will come out well in the next couple of games.
(Is Lockie Ferguson the enforces in the bowling attack?) Umm, not really. It changes. I feel Sears is sometimes the enforcer too. He bowls at a great pace. I bowled well too. New Zealand cricket has a lot of talent and I am very fortunate to represent my country.
(On bowling an economical spell today) Well, when you are economical, you always try to hunt for wickets. I tried to get wickets tonight but it didn't happen. Happy with the figures tonight. Everyone bowled really well. Looking forward to the next game. I am sure the boys will be very keen to play on these wickets."
Most Economical Four-Over Spells at Eden Park in T20Is:
4-0-8-2 - Trent Boult (New Zealand) vs South Africa, 2017
4-0-9-1 - Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand) vs South Africa, 2026, Tonight*
4-1-12-1 - Josh Hazlewood (Australia) vs New Zealand, 2024
4-0-8-2 - Trent Boult (New Zealand) vs South Africa, 2017
4-0-9-1 - Lockie Ferguson (New Zealand) vs South Africa, 2026, Tonight*
4-1-12-1 - Josh Hazlewood (Australia) vs New Zealand, 2024
Keshav Maharaj (South Africa captain): "(Thoughts on the performance) That was really disappointing to say the least. Obviously, we lost a lot of wickets in the powerplay. Just never got going from there. It is hard to come back from 46/5. A little bit of lower order hitting helped us get some runs on the board. But then, credit to Tom (Latham) for assessing the conditions and batting through.
(Failed to adjust to the ground?) We were not adaptive enough. We saw the extra bounce, but did not adjust to it in the right manner. We are a young side, but that is no excuse. The beauty of this series is that we can still make a comeback. So, it is back to the drawing board and hopefully, we will be able to bounce back.
(Positives?) Nqobani's (Mokoena) hitting surprised us a bit. Then, the new ball bowlers were pretty good. Yes, it was a spicy surface, but they put the ball in the right areas.
(On Nqobani Mokoena) Don't think he knows how good he can be with the bat. Hopefully, we can put ourselves in a position where we can send some of the guys up the order to have a whack."
(Failed to adjust to the ground?) We were not adaptive enough. We saw the extra bounce, but did not adjust to it in the right manner. We are a young side, but that is no excuse. The beauty of this series is that we can still make a comeback. So, it is back to the drawing board and hopefully, we will be able to bounce back.
(Positives?) Nqobani's (Mokoena) hitting surprised us a bit. Then, the new ball bowlers were pretty good. Yes, it was a spicy surface, but they put the ball in the right areas.
(On Nqobani Mokoena) Don't think he knows how good he can be with the bat. Hopefully, we can put ourselves in a position where we can send some of the guys up the order to have a whack."
Mitchell Santner (New Zealand Captain): "(On opting to bowl first) Well, you can look at it either way. The ball swung a lot in the second innings. I wanted to put them to bat in this ground and then chase it down later on. There was some steep bounce on the surface which helped the pacers a lot.
(On the squad depth) Yes, we have remarkable depth in the side. We obviously have a few guys who are unavailable for this series but it was nice to see the rest of them stepping up for the country. The blueprint was simple. We wanted to whack the wicket with some cutters. KJ (Jamieson) and Lockie bowled really well upfront with the new ball. Sears bowled extremely well with the new ball, too. Neesham's three overs were quite massive for us as well.
(On the batting performance) Yeah, it looked tricky at the start. Gerald bowled really well with the new ball. The two boys soaked that up brilliantly and then adapted accordingly. They played them perfectly well and it was a nice chase at the end.
(On the positives from this game) Yeah, it was pretty good. The good thing was that I kept chopping and changing guys a lot in our bowling innings and everyone were ready to go. When there is something on offer from the surface, it's quite easy for me to decide. We bowled very well on these conditions. Looking forward to the next game."
(On the squad depth) Yes, we have remarkable depth in the side. We obviously have a few guys who are unavailable for this series but it was nice to see the rest of them stepping up for the country. The blueprint was simple. We wanted to whack the wicket with some cutters. KJ (Jamieson) and Lockie bowled really well upfront with the new ball. Sears bowled extremely well with the new ball, too. Neesham's three overs were quite massive for us as well.
(On the batting performance) Yeah, it looked tricky at the start. Gerald bowled really well with the new ball. The two boys soaked that up brilliantly and then adapted accordingly. They played them perfectly well and it was a nice chase at the end.
(On the positives from this game) Yeah, it was pretty good. The good thing was that I kept chopping and changing guys a lot in our bowling innings and everyone were ready to go. When there is something on offer from the surface, it's quite easy for me to decide. We bowled very well on these conditions. Looking forward to the next game."
All smiles for New Zealand tonight. Both their Men's team and the Women's team now lead their respective series 2-1. That means come Sunday, March 22, it will be "do or die" time for both the visiting sides. Wellington will play host to the 4th double header.
Of course, Team Crickxo will be here to take you through the action. Do join us then. For now, this is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Pritam Dey and Bishal Mandal signing off. We hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we did bringing it to you. See you soon!
Of course, Team Crickxo will be here to take you through the action. Do join us then. For now, this is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Pritam Dey and Bishal Mandal signing off. We hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we did bringing it to you. See you soon!