Tuesday 11 / February / 2025
Lahore : New Zealand's Kane Williamson delivered a masterclass in batting, guiding his team to victory over South Africa in the second match of the Tri-Nation series.
The experienced batter played a commanding knock, scoring 133 off 113 deliveries, which included 13 boundaries and two sixes.
Reflecting on the game, Williamson acknowledged the challenging conditions and praised his team's efforts.
"Yeah, I think the conditions today were a bit different and we did an outstanding job. Breetzke with an outstanding hundred and we had to work hard to chase it down. We now get a few days off. We keep going to different venues; last one was a day-night game and this was an early start. GP is a lot stronger than me and we have to do it differently. Whenever you're chasing a score like that you need partnership and it was a really good team effort. We're trying to get used to the conditions as much as possible," Williamson said after the match as he was the 'Player of the Match', as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
New Zealand clinched a six-wicket win over South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Monday in the ongoing three-nation series.
The Kiwis held the top place in the standing with four points and have a net run rate of +0.906.
New Zealand won the toss and decided to field against South Africa. Back in the first inning, Kiwi skipper Mitchell Santner's decision looked to go against them, however, New Zealand made a solid comeback in the game with the help of Williamson's unbeaten century which helped the Kiwis clinch a six-wicket win over the Proteas.
Earlier, Matthew Breetzke (150 runs from 148 balls, 11 fours and 5 sixes) and Temba Bavuma (20 runs from 23 balls, 3 fours) opened for the Proteas and solidified a 37-run partnership. Breetzke cretaed history becoming the firstever batter to score a 150 on debut.
William ORourke drew the first blood for the Kiwis as he removed the South Africa skipper in the 8th over.
The opening partnership was not great for Bavuma's side but Jason Smith (41 runs from 51 balls, 1 four and 2 sixes) came on the crease and pulled the Proteas back in the game with a 93-run partnership with Breetzke.
Jason was unlucky to lose his wicket from a run-out in the 25th over.
Wicketkeeper-batter Kyle Verreynne (1 run from 4 balls) failed to make a mark in the game and lost his wicket against Michael Bracewell in the 27th over.In the 46th over, Matt Henry was successful in removing the debutant Breetzke from the crease in the 46th over.Later in the inning, Wiaan Mulder (64 runs from 60 balls, 5 fours and 1 six) played a crucial knock and added a few crucial runs on the board.
At the end of the first inning, Eathan Bosch (7 runs from 9 balls) and Mihlali Mpongwana (1 run from 2 balls) stayed unbeaten on the crease and powered the Proteas to 304/6 after the end of the 50 overs.Matt Henry and William ORourke led the Kiwi bowling attack as they picked up two wickets each in their respective spells. Michael Bracewell also bagged one wicket in his 10-over spell.
During the run chase, New Zealand played a dominating cricket. Will Young (19 runs from 31 balls, 2 fours) and Devon Conway (97 runs from 107 balls, 9 fours and 1 six) cemented a 50-run partnership which gave the Kiwis a kickstart to chase down the target.
Eathan Bosch bagged the first wicket in the second inning when he removed Young in the 10th over.Kane Williamson (133* runs from 113 balls, 13 fours and 2 sixes) replaced Young on the crease and made a 187-run partnership with Conway, which gave an upper hand to New Zealand over South Africa.
In the 36th over, Junior Dala got rid of Conway but that didn't change the match's scenario.Senuran Muthusamy removed Daryl Mitchell, and Tom Latham in the 39th over to put some pressure on the Kiwis but that couldn't stop Williamson.
In the end, Williamson and Glenn Phillips (28* runs from 32 balls, 1 four and 1 six) stayed unbeaten on the crease and chased down the target in the 49th over. Williamson's fiery knock helped the Kiwis clinch a six-wicket win over the Proteas.
South Africa were sloppy with their bowling attack as they failed to pick wickets and break the momentum. Senuran Muthusamy bagged two wickets in his 9-over spell.
