154/8 (20.0)
CR : 7.70
187/4 (20.0)
CR : 9.35
South Africa won by 33 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
C Esterhuizen
75(33)
3:05 PM IST, 10:35 PM local time: South Africa know how to bounce back, don't they? After losing two successive one-sided affairs in Hamilton and Auckland, Maharaj and his men recovered to string back-to-back victories and thereby, win the series 3-2.
Tonight's 33-run win too had subplots of resilience. They were put into bat and were under trouble early. Tony de Zorzi failed to get going yet again. Wiaan Mulder, who had been dismissed for a duck in each of last two games before this match, was struggling to keep his strike rate up. At 76/1 in 10 overs, as Nick Kelly told in his mid-match interview, New Zealand felt that they had the visitors on a leash. However, they bounced back.
Connor Esterhuizen led the charge. His 33-ball-75* was exuberant, domineering and enthralling to watch. His shot selection was sharp and ball-striking was crisp. Almost as if he had carried on from where he left in Wellington. The only difference was that tonight he was batting at no.4 and not no.3. Rubin Hermann had been promoted up the order, possibly to maintain the right-left combination. He came out firing all cylinders too, but seemed to have run out of steam soon. Dian Forrester played his part in providing the propulsion with a 13-ball-21* helping the visitors reach 187/4 in 20 overs.
There was swing, seam, bounce as well as turn on offer on the pitch. However, New Zealand failed to hold onto their catches. How many did they put down? We kept track for a while and then lost count. Click on the "dropped catches" tab on the highlights bar at the top of this feed to get the exact details.
The hosts were pegged early by some impressive new ball bowling. Gerald Coetzee bowled at pace and tested the openers, while Mulder reaped the rewards for it by getting Katene Clarke's wicket with a nothing ball, strangling him down the leg. Post that there was a little partnership between Tim Robinson and Dane Cleaver that raised hopes, only to be quashed by some effective middle overs bowling. The run out of Robinson caused by Jason Smith's nimbleness was a significant moment in the run chase too.
Post that, the innings moved along like an old, broken-down car stuttering at every mile of the way. Bevon Jacobs' sprightly 19-ball-36 did ignite the flame of hope but the optimism was short-lived. Coetzee came back to wrap his night with 2 wickets later in the piece, while Mulder nabbed another victim down the leg side.
Tonight's 33-run win too had subplots of resilience. They were put into bat and were under trouble early. Tony de Zorzi failed to get going yet again. Wiaan Mulder, who had been dismissed for a duck in each of last two games before this match, was struggling to keep his strike rate up. At 76/1 in 10 overs, as Nick Kelly told in his mid-match interview, New Zealand felt that they had the visitors on a leash. However, they bounced back.
Connor Esterhuizen led the charge. His 33-ball-75* was exuberant, domineering and enthralling to watch. His shot selection was sharp and ball-striking was crisp. Almost as if he had carried on from where he left in Wellington. The only difference was that tonight he was batting at no.4 and not no.3. Rubin Hermann had been promoted up the order, possibly to maintain the right-left combination. He came out firing all cylinders too, but seemed to have run out of steam soon. Dian Forrester played his part in providing the propulsion with a 13-ball-21* helping the visitors reach 187/4 in 20 overs.
There was swing, seam, bounce as well as turn on offer on the pitch. However, New Zealand failed to hold onto their catches. How many did they put down? We kept track for a while and then lost count. Click on the "dropped catches" tab on the highlights bar at the top of this feed to get the exact details.
The hosts were pegged early by some impressive new ball bowling. Gerald Coetzee bowled at pace and tested the openers, while Mulder reaped the rewards for it by getting Katene Clarke's wicket with a nothing ball, strangling him down the leg. Post that there was a little partnership between Tim Robinson and Dane Cleaver that raised hopes, only to be quashed by some effective middle overs bowling. The run out of Robinson caused by Jason Smith's nimbleness was a significant moment in the run chase too.
Post that, the innings moved along like an old, broken-down car stuttering at every mile of the way. Bevon Jacobs' sprightly 19-ball-36 did ignite the flame of hope but the optimism was short-lived. Coetzee came back to wrap his night with 2 wickets later in the piece, while Mulder nabbed another victim down the leg side.
South Africa in 5-Match T20I Series:
Won by 3-2 vs West Indies, Away, 2021
Drawn 2-2 vs India, Away, 2022
Lost by 1-3 vs India, Away, 2025
Won by 3-2 vs New Zealand, Away, 2026, This Series*
Won by 3-2 vs West Indies, Away, 2021
Drawn 2-2 vs India, Away, 2022
Lost by 1-3 vs India, Away, 2025
Won by 3-2 vs New Zealand, Away, 2026, This Series*
Player of the Match: Connor Esterhuizen
Connor Esterhuizen (Player of the Match): "Thank you very much. I think the best thing was that I played with some freedom today. The guys up top managed to set the platform for us tonight in order to go hard in the second half of the innings.
(Favourite six tonight?) I'll say the one over cover probably. It was just an instinct thing. I don't know how it happened but I felt very good about it.
Well, I said that 160-170 was going to be a competitive score over here. When we crossed 180, we knew it was going to be tough ask for them."
(Favourite six tonight?) I'll say the one over cover probably. It was just an instinct thing. I don't know how it happened but I felt very good about it.
Well, I said that 160-170 was going to be a competitive score over here. When we crossed 180, we knew it was going to be tough ask for them."
Player of the Series: Connor Esterhuizen
Connor Esterhuizen (Player of the Series): "(What adjustments did he make throughout this series?) I think from the first one as you said, I had to keep the scoreboard ticking that day but today it was more free flowing. I felt that the ball travelled nicely and the outfield was really quick. You need to be in strong positions, have good technique and that does set you in a good position in T20 cricket.
(Does playing red ball cricket help him in this format?) Absolutely. I think it keeps you hitting balls in the gaps. It's a great back to basics kind of format which helps you in T20 cricket.
(What does it mean to him playing for South Africa) It means everything to me. Pinch me moments as I have said before. When you sit back and have chats as a kid around the table, you dream about playing for your country. It's a really special feeling. Quite humbling.
(Standout moment in this series?) Umm, a lot of things to be honest. I absolutely loved my time playing here in New Zealand. I love the country. I will take the memories made with such a good team after a series win."
(Does playing red ball cricket help him in this format?) Absolutely. I think it keeps you hitting balls in the gaps. It's a great back to basics kind of format which helps you in T20 cricket.
(What does it mean to him playing for South Africa) It means everything to me. Pinch me moments as I have said before. When you sit back and have chats as a kid around the table, you dream about playing for your country. It's a really special feeling. Quite humbling.
(Standout moment in this series?) Umm, a lot of things to be honest. I absolutely loved my time playing here in New Zealand. I love the country. I will take the memories made with such a good team after a series win."
STAT ATTACK: Since 2022, South Africa have played eight bilateral T20I series. This win against New Zealand is their first. They had lost six of the previous seven, while drawing one against England in 2025.
Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand captain): "It was a tough start and then obviously, we fought back in games two and three to go 2-1 up. A couple of subpar performances there at the back end of the series, which is disappointing.
(What's next?) It has been a long summer. I'm looking forward to my six-day at home since October, I think. I think that's just the nature of the scheduling these days. There's cricket on at all times of the year.
(Opportunities for new players throughout the season?) It was a good opportunity here with a few guys absent to blood some young guys. And I think we saw some experience gained, some tough options, some good moments. And I think everyone that was young and came into the series will probably take away some experience to make themselves better.
(What to improve for the next summer?) I thought we batted and bowled okay. I thought the fielding was probably a little bit below par, especially tonight. Under lights, it's never easy. There's all facets of the game you can look at. I think, South Africa brought a quality bowling attack. They brought an inexperienced batting line-up, but a quality bowling attack to the shores. So I think a few batters probably got a good taste of, what the next level up is like."
(What's next?) It has been a long summer. I'm looking forward to my six-day at home since October, I think. I think that's just the nature of the scheduling these days. There's cricket on at all times of the year.
(Opportunities for new players throughout the season?) It was a good opportunity here with a few guys absent to blood some young guys. And I think we saw some experience gained, some tough options, some good moments. And I think everyone that was young and came into the series will probably take away some experience to make themselves better.
(What to improve for the next summer?) I thought we batted and bowled okay. I thought the fielding was probably a little bit below par, especially tonight. Under lights, it's never easy. There's all facets of the game you can look at. I think, South Africa brought a quality bowling attack. They brought an inexperienced batting line-up, but a quality bowling attack to the shores. So I think a few batters probably got a good taste of, what the next level up is like."
Keshav Maharaj (South Africa captain): "(Thoughts on the performance?) It's a wonderful opportunity for these youngsters to understand what international cricket is about. I think coming here, not a lot of people gave us credit with the young side that we had, but we saw the hunger, desire and passion. To come back from 2-1 and clinch the series is super special.It just shows the depth in our system and how well the youngsters are sort of putting their hands up.
(On bouncing back from being 2-1 down) I think going 2-1 down, probably not our best starting display, but to see the youngsters come through and put in two really good performances with the bat, I think you can be really happy. We don't have the experience here, but to see how the guys played, it just looked like, it was easy transition into international cricket despite some pressure behind them."
(On bouncing back from being 2-1 down) I think going 2-1 down, probably not our best starting display, but to see the youngsters come through and put in two really good performances with the bat, I think you can be really happy. We don't have the experience here, but to see how the guys played, it just looked like, it was easy transition into international cricket despite some pressure behind them."
South Africa win the series 3-2. For a side that won only 2 out of their 10 bilateral/multilateral series in the last T20 World Cup cycle, this is indeed a laudable beginning. Much like they did in the majority of the last two years, the Proteas did not field their first choice team in this series. However, Maharaj and his men fought foreign conditions and the pressure of being down early to emerge victorious. Hence, it will make the fans really happy.
We hope you enjoyed the coverage as much as we did bringing it to you. Feel free to scroll below the quotes and check out the comprehensive summary of the game. For now, this is Darpan Tikiya signing off on the behalf of Pritam Dey, Ajay Pal Singh, Aman and Yogesh Kumar. Keep following Crickxo for more cricketing action from around the globe. Sayonara!
We hope you enjoyed the coverage as much as we did bringing it to you. Feel free to scroll below the quotes and check out the comprehensive summary of the game. For now, this is Darpan Tikiya signing off on the behalf of Pritam Dey, Ajay Pal Singh, Aman and Yogesh Kumar. Keep following Crickxo for more cricketing action from around the globe. Sayonara!