Star Pacer Matt Henry prevented eight runs in the tense final to help New Zealand to seal the narrow three-run of the South African Republic in the final of the T20i Tri-Series in Harare Sports Club. South Africa, which chased 181 for the title Tri-Series, appeared firmly under control for most shifts and needed only eight runs from the last eight vans with six goals in hand. However, two exceptional catches in the deep and folded finals from Matt Henry turned the match on their heads.
Dewald Brevis seemed to have given South Africa to win with a blister of 31 of only 16 balls, but his attempt to clean the square leg was spectacular Michael Bracewell. Bracewell juggled the ball on the rope and finished a remarkable catch just inside the pitch to release Brevis. In the next over, Daryl Mitchell withdrew an excellent diving effort on Long-off to remove George Linde, who threatened to finish the game with a great intervention on the ground.
New Zealand vs. South Africa, Tri-Series: The most important
With the seven needed since the last Henry, he admitted only three runs and stored on the Senuran Muthusama from the final delivery to seal the victory. Experienced Pacer ended up with characters 2 for 19 of his three exceeding. “As a group we played some really good cricket and to get through the line in such a tight game, I’m proud of the boy,” Henry said. “It’s a team recognition – staying in a fight and knowing that goals can change things quickly.”
Previously, New Zealand was inserted into BAT and published a competitive 180 for five. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra led a charge with the same score of 47 and set a fixed platform for the middle order to speed up in the last stages. In response to this, the South African Lhuan-Dre Pretorius impressed the smooth 51 of the 35 balls and maintained the persecution of the course. But despite their promising location, protease has been extended under pressure in the final stages.
“We played a pretty good game – it was really a match of millimeters,” said South Africa’s captain Rassie van der Dussen. “We had several players who made their debut and in this series we tried several different things, so for the young people to come and get so close, it is something we will definitely learn from.”
Zimbabwe, a third party in a row of three, lost all four of its group matches.
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Published:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
July 26, 2025
