Published: Oct 21, 2014, 06:31 AM (IST)
Edited: Oct 21, 2014, 06:50 AM (IST)
By Sameer Jha
Oct 21, 2014
South Africa started their tour to New Zealand on a good note as they restricted the hosts for just 230 runs in the first One-Day International (ODI) at Mount Maunganui. The total would have been much lesser, had Luke Ronchi not scored a fighting 99 and combined beautifully with Trent Boult to form a crucial 74-run 10th wicket partnership.
Martin Guptill and James Neesham started the proceedings for New Zealand. Neesham was looking good and he hit consecutive boundaries off Dale Steyn in the fifth over. However, his stay at the crease didn’t last long and he was dismissed in the next over itself. Guptill, who had scored just a run from his first 15 balls, was the next to depart.
Brendon McCullum and Dean Brownlie, then combined to put some resistance, but both batsman fell in consecutive overs. Corey Anderson too couldn’t rescue the hosts, and he was out first ball to leave New Zealand reeling at 68 for five. It was then that Luke Ronchi and Tom Latham combined to put up a 65-run partnership to restore some sanity, to the Kiwi total. Latham’s resistance came to an end in the 27th over, and wickets kept tumbling in quick intervals after that. Ronchi was the only batsman who stood tall amid ruins, and formed a face-saving 10th wicket partnership with Trent Boult.
For South Africa, it was a team bowling performance, and six bowlers took at least a wicket, and not one bowler took more than two wickets. Only Ryan McLaren, who was meted some treatment by Latham and Ronchi was on the expensive side.
Brief scores:
New Zealand 230 all out (Luke Ronchi 99, Tom Latham 29; Imran Tahir 2 for 37) vs South Africa
Complete coverage of South Africa’s tour of New Zealand
(Sameer Jha is a reporter at CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter at @SameerJha_)
