9:40 PM IST, Local Time: Not the first time that rain had the last say in the warm-up games of the 2023 World Cup.
New Zealand won the match by 7 runs as per DLS.
Quinton de Kock struggled in the late end to find contact of the bat and that turned out to be one of the match-defining moments. Had he retired himself and someone fresh would've come, maybe South Africa could have gone past the DLS par score. But it's good for them that it was the warm-up game and therefore no harm to either sides.
In pursuit of the mammoth chase of 332 runs, Reeza Hendricks got dismissed in the first over itself. Trent Boult with the new ball as usual reaped the fruit. Rassie van der Dussen played a vital knock of 51 off 56 balls rescuing the Proteas along with Quinton de Kock. The right-hander got out in the 15th over with spin coming the play. It was Santner to got the better of him while Sodhi outsmarted the interim captain, Aiden Markram soon.
South Africa were 111-3 and then it was the wicketkeeper pair of Heinrich Klaasen and de Kock that tailored a 56-run stand to take things forward. Right after, David Miller replaced Klaasen and was assisting the top-order batter.
De Kock struggled as the time passed by. His bat grip was getting frictionless due to the humidity of the venue and also got a lot of thuds in the body and helmet. Despite several strikes, he denied leaving the field and showed signs of variance. Eventually, nature took things into its hands and forced the left-handed batter by bringing rain. The covers were dragged into the field and soon after 10-15 minutes of watch, the officials decided to declare New Zealand as the winner via DLS.