Before the tri-series final, New Zealand claimed a big win in a head-to-head battle between the two finalists.
The match started slowly with just 18 runs in the first five overs as South African batsmen struggled against New Zealand’s excellent bowling throughout the innings. This limited the opposition to a modest total. In the chase, Tim Seifert’s half-century guided the Kiwis to a commanding victory.
On Tuesday, in the tri-series group stage, New Zealand defeated South Africa by 7 wickets, reaching the target of 134 with 25 balls to spare.
The two teams will face off again in the series final on Saturday. South Africa had lost to Mitchell Santner’s side earlier in the tournament.
Tim Seifert was the star of New Zealand’s victory in Harare. He scored 66 runs off 48 balls with 2 sixes and 6 fours to steer his team home.
The foundation of the win, however, was laid by the bowlers. Jacob Duffy, Adam Milne, and Santner each took two wickets, while Will Oram picked up one. Even though he didn’t take a wicket, Jack Fox bowled tightly, conceding just 12 runs in 3 overs.
After winning the toss, New Zealand put South Africa into bat and applied pressure from the start. The Proteas managed only 34 runs for 1 wicket in the powerplay, with their only wicket falling in the 6th over when 16 runs had come.
South Africa kept losing wickets regularly. Mark Chapman did not allow Rubin Hermann, who had batted well in the previous two matches, to settle and ran him out with a direct throw following excellent fielding.
Dewald Brevis, Luan de Pretorius, and Andile Simelane all failed to hold the innings together. The highest partnership was 30 runs between Reeza Hendricks and George Linde.
Duffy broke the Hendricks-Linde partnership, dismissing Hendricks for 41 off 37 balls with 1 six and 4 fours. Linde remained unbeaten on 23 from 15 balls, with a six and a four, helping South Africa reach 134.
South Africa’s bowling start was shaky. In the first over he bowled, Seifert dropped a catch off Simelane’s bowling but made the opposition pay later.
New Zealand got off to a good start with a 51-run opening partnership between Seifert and Devon Conway. Conway scored 19 runs with 3 fours before being caught behind.
In the next over, another blow came as Rachin Ravindra was caught at long-on. After Chapman returned to the dressing room in the 11th over, Seifert and Darryl Mitchell steadied the innings and didn’t let any more wickets fall.
Seifert reached his fifty off 38 balls with a six off Senuran Muthusamy. This was his 11th fifty in international T20 cricket. He also scored the winning runs, guiding the team home with a four off Kuda Maphaka.
Mitchell supported Seifert with 20 not out from 15 balls, including 2 fours. Together, their unbeaten partnership was worth 51 runs.
Brief Scorecard
- South Africa: 20 overs – 134/8
(Von der Dussen 14, Hendricks 41, Hermann 10, Brevis 13, Pretorius 1, Simelane 11, Linde 23, Kutsia 0, Muthusamy 8, Peter 7; Duffy 4-0-33-2, Fox 3-0-12-0, Milne 4-0-21-2, Santner 4-1-26-2, Oram 4-0-26-1, Ravindra 1-0-14-0) - New Zealand: 15.5 overs – 135/3
(Conway 19, Seifert 66, Ravindra 3, Chapman 10, Mitchell 20; Linde 3-0-30-0, Kutsia 3-0-37-0, Maphaka 2.5-0-19-0, Simelane 1-0-5-1, Muthusamy 4-0-24-2, Peter 2-0-20-0)
Result: New Zealand won by 7 wickets
Man of the Match: Tim Seifert
