Live Cricket Score, New Zealand vs South Africa, 3rd Test, Day 5: Play called off; SA seal series by 1-0

Will South Africa pull off the unlikely or New Zealand level series, is a question only time will tell.

Hello, good morning, and welcome to CricketCountry’s live cricket blog and updates of Day Five of the third and final Test between New Zealand and South Africa, at Seddon Park, Hamilton. I, Shruti Hariharan, will be sharing live cricket scores and social media happenings from 3 am IST. Anyway, not that I am an insomniac, but maybe you can call me a nocturnal. On the other hand, being a Faf du Plessis fan made my boss assign me this match. But looking at the position his team is in, it is unlikely that du Plessis will lift the series. However, they were in a similar situation in the last match. And if they pull off the same heroics, we may as well see the improbable. Full Cricket Scorecard: New Zealand vs South Africa, 3rd Test at Hamilton

To add icing to the cake (chocolate, preferably), du Plessis is unbeaten on 15 with the in-form Quinton de Kock at the other end. Even though South Africa have lost half the side, they still have a glimmer of hope given these two are in the middle. All the same, South Africa need a draw to replace Australia as No. 2 team in ICC Test Rankings. For them to do so, South Africa will have to clear the deficit, bat as long as possible, and make New Zealand bat again. If they go according to the plan, they will win the three-Test series 1-0, and end the gruelling tour on a high.

New Zealand, on the other hand, will leave no stone unturned to win the match and level the series 1-1. To make things more interesting, they have not beaten New Zealand since 2004 at home.

To add to the mix, rain is expected to play spoilsport much like it did in the first Test at Dunedin on Day 5.

Teams:

South Africa: Dean Elgar, Quinton de Kock (wk), Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis (c), Theunis de Bruyn, Temba Bavuma, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel

New Zealand:  Jeet Raval, Tom Latham, Kane Williamson (c), Neil Broom, Henry Nicholls, Mitchell Santner, BJ Watling (wk), Colin de Grandhomme, Matt Henry, Jeetan Patel, Neil Wagner

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