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South Africa dismantle New Zealand; win 3rd ODI by 159 runs

Colin de Grandhomme was the only Kiwi player who stood out from his team both with bat and ball. He remained unbeaten on 34 off 34 deliveries and took 2 wickets in the first.

AB de Villiers was adjudged Man of the Match for his vital 85 in the first innings © Getty Images
AB de Villiers was adjudged Man of the Match for his vital 85 in the first innings © Getty Images

South African pacers scripted Kiwi collapse as hosts were thwarted by 159 runs in the 3rd One-Day International (ODI) at Wellington. Dwaine Pretorius took 3 wickets as he finished with terrific figures of 5.2-1-5-3 to embarrass the hosts. Kagiso Rabada, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo took 2 wickets each while Imran Tahir got 1 to put the hosts through a shambolic defeat. Having set a target of 272, New Zealand were pinned down on 112 in 32.2 overs. South Africa skipper AB de Villiers was adjudged Man of the Match for his blistering 85 runs off 80 deliveries which helped his team to put up a challenging total on the board. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: New Zealand vs South Africa 3rd ODI

Colin de Grandhomme was the only Kiwi player who stood out from his team both with bat and ball. He remained unbeaten on 34 off 34 deliveries and took 2 wickets in the first.

New Zealand got off to a calamitous start yet again as opener Tom Latham (0) was dismissed off Parnell’s bowling. This was Latham’s second duck against South Africa in the ongoing series. The situation worsened for the hosts when their in-form opener Dean Brownlie too departed 7 deliveries later. Rabada forced Brownlie to poke at an outgoing delivery giving an easy regulation catch to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. New Zealand score read 16 for 2 in 4 overs with captain Kane Williamson and previous match’s hero Ross Taylor at the crease.

Williamson was already dropped off Parnell’s bowling by Hashim Amla at first slip in the same over as Brownlie was dismissed.

The target was a big one and the Kiwis desperately needed a big partnership. With the required run-rate soaring high and the bowlers bowling excellent swinging spells, things looked very tough for both Williamson and Taylor. Williamson was enduring a tough time against Parnell’s out swinging deliveries. But he played a resilient inning. Taylor on the other hand was frustrated by the Protea quicks who did not allow him to free his arms.

Despite this, both managed to negate some overs to put some runs on the board. Both had put up a 37-run stand for the third wicket and they appeared to have played out the tough time. But AB de Villiers brought Andile Phehlukwayo into the attack and it worked wonders for the visitors.

Rabada bowled a good length delivery which moved with the seam. Williamson tried cutting the ball but cramped for room and chopped the ball back on the stumps. Before the hosts could handle this huge setback of their captain’s wicket, Taylor too followed him 3 deliveries later. Pretorius who was having a quiet match till then, trapped the New Zealand lynchpin paving path for an emphatic victory.

With 48 runs on the board and 4 wickets down, a New Zealand defeat looked certain. It was only a matter of 8 deliveries, as Amla made amend for dropping Williamson by taking Neil Broom’s (0) catch off Phehlukwayo’s bowling.

Mitchell Santner (1), Jimmy Neesham (13), Tim Southee (5), Lockie Ferguson (4) and Trent Boult (4) soon followed their colleague’s trend in no-time eventually to get routed by 159 runs.

South Africa have now taken a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, with the last two games scheduled on March 1 and March 3 at Hamilton and Auckland respectively. 

Brief scores:

South Africa 272 for 8 in 50 overs (Quinton de Kock 68, AB de Villiers 85, Wayne Parnell 35*; Colin de Grandhomme 2 for 40, Mitchell Santner 1 for 40) defeated New Zealand 112 all out in 32.2 overs (Colin de Grandhomme 34*, Kane Williamson 23; Dwaine Pretorius 3 for 5)

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