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AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock propel South Africa to 272 for 8 against New Zealand in 3rd ODI

De Villiers en route 85 got to 9,000 ODI runs also scoring his 51st fifty, departing 2 deliveries before the innings ended amidst standing ovation as he displayed his class yet again along with Parnell (34*) to take their side to a total which looked distant at one point.

AB de Villiers scored 85 off 80 deliveries © Getty Images
AB de Villiers scored 85 off 80 deliveries © Getty Images (File Photo)

South Africa finished at 272 for 8 in the 3rd One Day International (ODI) against New Zealand at Wellington. Skipper AB de Villiers played anchors role in helping the visitors posting a challenging total along with bowling all-rounder Wayne Parnell who played unbeaten on 34 off 31. Quinton de Kock played a vital role at the start of the innings (68) to lay the foundation to a big score. Colin de Grandhomme was the most successful bowler for New Zealand as he took 2 wickets conceding 40 runs. De Grandhomme bowled all his 10 overs in one spell which resulted in the South African middle-order faltering. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: New Zealand vs South Africa 3rd ODI

De Villiers en route 85 got to 9,000 ODI runs also scoring his 51st fifty, departing 2 deliveries before the innings ended amidst standing ovation as he displayed his class yet again along with Parnell to take their side to a total which looked distant at one point.

Opting to bat first, South Africa openers got off to a safe start being watchful in the first 5 overs, judging the bowlers. But de Kock, on the other hand, resumed from where he left at Christchurch and took to the aggressive role since the very first ball. But Hashim Amla (7) looked completely out of shape and departed quickly ending his misery giving Kane Williamson an easy catch of Tim Southee’s bowling.

Lockie Ferguson who was included in the side instead of leggie Ish Sodhi conceded 16 runs off his first 2 overs and was pulled out of the attack as de Kock and Faf du Plessis took him to cleaners. Despite both de Kock and du Plessis being in top notch, the Kiwi quicks persisted banging the deliveries short in the initial stage of the game yielding runs.

This was the time when Kane Williamson introduced Colin de Grandhomme in the attack. He bowled excellent line not allowing the batsmen to free their arms. His stringent overs made both de Kock and du Plessis attack Mitchell Santner. But de Grandhomme’s persistence paid off and was rewarded with wickets of du Plessis (36) and de Kock (68) in a matter of 4 deliveries.

First, it was du Plessis who smacked a cover-drive but failed to get enough elevation giving Southee an easy catch at mid-off. Three deliveries later, de Kock unnecessarily danced down the wicket. Seeing the batsman advancing, de Grandhomme banged it short; de Kock was never in a position to pull the shot as he lofted the ball over square leg umpire where Jimmy Neesham took a good catch diving to his left.

Both these batsmen scored a vital 73-run stand for the 2nd wicket which formed a great platform and it was very important for the next batsmen to make full use of it. AB de Villiers and JP Duminy took the matter in their hands and executed their experience very well. They made sure of keeping the scoreboard ticking and hitting boundaries whenever an opportunity arose.

But against the run of play, Duminy (16) tried to take a sneaky single but was caught short of the crease at the non-striker’s end. This saw an end to a 42-run stand with his captain putting the Proteas in some spot of bother. There was still some optimism left in the visitor’s camp of scoring a good score by the end of the innings as David Miller and Dwaine Pretorius were still awaiting their chance.

But Miller (3) suffered the guile of Santner’s spin while Pretorius (11) was beaten by Ferguson’s pace. All of a sudden South Africa were trembling at 180 for 6 with de Villiers constant at one end.

When Wayne Parnell walked in to bat, South Africa were well below their expected total and had just 12 overs in hand and had a tough task to put themselves into a respectable position. But Parnell played good supporting innings for his team’s cause. He was a little awkward at the start of the innings, but once he settled into the game blasted off the Kiwi bowlers. He along with de Villiers scored 84 off 64 deliveries to ensure of a respectable total by the end of 50th over.

Brief scores:

South Africa 272 for 8 (Quinton de Kock 68, AB de Villiers 85, Faf du Plessis 36, Wayne Parnell 35*; Colin de Grandhomme 2 for 40, Mitchell Santner 1 for 40) vs New Zealand

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