South Africa will look to go 2-0 up their five-match series against New Zealand when the sides meet in Christchurch on Tuesday.
South Africa continued to show why they’re the number one ranked side in the world. A fighting four-wicket victory again highlighted why many have tipped Russel Domingo’s men to lift the ICC Champions Trophy later this year.
Before we get too carried away though, there are still four ODIs to be played against New Zealand; and one can be sure that Kane Williamson and his charges won’t want to lose any more ground on the South Africans in this series.
New Zealand vs South Africa | Tuesday 21 February | Hagley Oval, Christchurch | 23:00
To Win Match
New Zealand 29/20 | Tie 35/1 | South Africa 57/100
New Zealand
The hosts probably would have been more soundly beaten had Tim Southee and Colin de Grandhomme not gone absolutely mad at the end of the New Zealand innings. The pair ruined Chris Morris’ excellent figures as they plundered 25 off the last over to take the total from 182-7 to 207-7.
A defendable total it was on a tricky wicket that very few batsman could adjust to. Mike Hesson and his men would have been confident of claiming victory after a middle order collapse saw the South Africans go from 88-0 in the 15th over to 126-5 in the 22nd.
As it turned out, Andile Phelukwayo and AB de Villiers would steer the South Africans home with just a single ball of their batting innings remaining.
New Zealand’s downfall in the first ODI can probably be attributed to a less than impressive display from the top and middle order. Tom Latham, Ross Taylor and Neil Broom could only add a total of three runs between the bulk of the work was left to the bowlers and all-rounders at the end of the innings.
More will be expected, especially from the likes of Latham and Taylor who have both proven their worth to New Zealand cricket over the years with world-class performances. They absolutely need to get the better of a relatively inexperienced South Africa attack.
The South Africans won’t have an issue chasing down mediocre totals with such a strong batting unit. Although there were a couple of hiccoughs in the last match, don’t expect the visitors’ top and middle order to be as charitable again.
South Africa
While the man of the match accolade went to Quinton de Kock for yet another half-century, it was Phelukwayo who stole the show as his late cameo dragged the wounded tourists over the line. The Hollywoodbets Dolphins all-rounder followed up a tidy bowling display with a 23-ball 29 to lead the visitors home.
He drilled a straight six in each of the last two overs as Tim Southee and Trent Boult failed to defend 22 runs off 12 balls. It’s not the first time Phelukwayo has been instrumental at finishing off a chase in a pressure situation. Cast your mind back a few months where he and David Miller successfully wrapped a chase of 372 with four balls to spare against Australia in Durban.
The groundwork for the chase was laid early by de Kock (69) and Hashim Amla (35) who put on 88 for the first wicket partnership. Things went a bit pear-shaped for Domingo’s men after that as they lost Faf du Plessis, de Kock, JP Duminy, Farhaan Behardien and Chris Morris in quick succession before Phelukwayo and de Villiers took the visitors home.
Looking ahead, I’d like to see David Miller come into the side in place of Behardien who hasn’t been great of late. Miller’s last innings saw him crack 117* in Durban against Sri Lanka. He’ll be desperate for a knock and will relish playing on such short boundaries.
Other than the batting change, I’d like to see one of Dane Paterson, Dwaine Pretorius or Wayne Parnell come in for Tabraiz Shamsi – there just isn’t enough space in the squad for two leg-spinners, especially with the amount of in-form seamers waiting in the wings.
Verdict: South Africa 57/100
It would take an incredibly brave punter to back New Zealand against this deadly South African side. They’ve stormed to the summit of the rankings in the last few months with 12 wins in a row – back them to make it 13 in Christchurch.
Value Bet: Kane Williamson to top score for NZL at 5/2
You won’t go broke backing Williamson to top score for the Black Caps in this series – especially not at 5/2. He’s a class act and their best batsman by miles, back him to top score for the hosts for the second match running.
Written by Jason Dewey for @Hollywoodbets.
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