South Africa won the series in New Zealand South Africa beat New Zealand by 33 runs in the T20 final to clinch the series 3-2, thanks to a powerful knock from Connor Esterhuizen. Chasing 188, New Zealand struggled throughout and ended up on 154-8 as they were unable to keep up with the increasing run rate required.South Africa, who won the toss and elected to bowl first, got off to a slow start but turned things around in the second half of the innings.
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Axar Patel questions Impact Player rule: ‘All-rounders lose value’Esterhuizen led the charge with a brilliant 75 off 33 balls, hitting boundaries with ease and accelerating the scoring. He built a quick partnership with Diane Forrester as the team piled on runs in the last 10 matches.“I think it was nice to be able to come in and play with a bit of freedom with a nice platform from the guys up there with goals in hand,” Esterhuizen said. “At the beginning of the opening hours, they evaluated it and said 160 was competitive. The more me and (Forrester) were there, we said 170 was a good score and we got 187.”
New Zealand lag behind in the chase
In response, New Zealand never really got going. Regular wickets and tight bowling kept them under pressure and the required run rate kept rising. Despite some late hitting, they needed too many runs in the final overs.South Africa’s bowlers, including Gerald Coetzee and Ottneil Baartman, kept things under control while disciplined fielding added to New Zealand’s woes. Poor shot selection and missed chances meant the hosts were unable to recover and gave South Africa a comfortable win and the series.
