Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series: Unbeaten New Zealand thrash South Africa
What's the story
New Zealand maintained their unbeaten run after beating South Africa in Match 5 of the ongoing Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series in Harare. The Black Caps successfully chased down 135, with Tim Seifert's half-century powering their win. Earlier, the likes of Jacob Duffy, Adam Milne, and Mitchell Santner took two wickets each. Notably, both NZ and SA have already entered the tri-series final.
Match
How the match panned out
Being invited to bat, SA suffered an early blow in the form of Rassie van der Dussen. Although Reeza Hendricks (41) held one end, SA were down to 79/5 in the 15th over. George Linde's 23* drove them to 134/8 in 20 overs. NZ were bolstered by a 51-run opening stand between Seifert and Devon Conway. Daryl Mitchell and Seifert eventually got NZ home.
Seifert
Match-winning knock from Seifert
Openers Seifert and Conway gave NZ the desired start in the run-chase. They continued to find boundaries as the Kiwis were past 50 in the Powerplay. Although NZ lost Conway and Rachin Ravindra in successive overs, Seifert held his ground. Daryl Mitchell later joined Seifert, who returned unbeaten on 66 off 48 balls. He slammed 6 fours and 2 sixes.
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Concerted bowling effort from NZ
The likes of Duffy, Milne, and skipper Santner took two wickets each for NZ. Milne was the pick of NZ's bowlers, recording an economy rate of 5.20. Meanwhile, Santner now has 124 wickets from 112 T20Is at an average of 22.09.
Hendricks
Top scorer for SA
Hendricks was the top scorer for SA in the match. He slammed a 37-ball 41 (4 fours and 1 six). Hendricks took the Proteas past 100 before falling to Jacob Duffy. In 82 T20Is, he has raced to 2,345 runs with an average of 29.68. His tally includes a ton and 17 half-centuries. Hendricks currently has the third-most T20I runs for SA.
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NZ, SA to clash in final
New Zealand are now unbeaten in three matches in the ongoing tri-series. They will face South Africa in the final on July 26. Hosts Zimbabwe were earlier eliminted from the race after losing three successive games.