Published: Mar 29, 2017, 07:39 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 29, 2017, 12:39 PM (IST)
Persistent rains on Day Five ensured that the third and final Test between New Zealand and South Africa ended in a draw. Kane Williamson was adjudged the Man of the Match for his 176 in the first innings. South Africa have now lost only one series — against India in 2015-16 — in over last 10 years. With this feat, South Africa not only claimed a 1-0 series victory but also toppled Australia as the No. 2 Test team, recovering from a slump which saw them slipping down to No. 7 last August. On the cut-off date of April 1, Faf du Plessis-led South Africa will confirmed as the captain of the No. 2 Test team with India being firmly fixated at the top. Full Cricket Scorecard: New Zealand vs South Africa, 3rd Test at Hamilton
South Africa also maintained their enviable record against New Zealand in their backyard, having won their last two Test series. In the ultimate day, South Africa had to score 95 runs to avoid an innings defeat. South Africa were tottering at 80 for 5 with du Plessis and Quinton de Kock at the crease. South Africa faced the task of batting throughout the final day as a draw would have ensured a series win for them, a result which the visiting side will now happily take as they ascend in the ICC Rankings. On the other hand, having done a lot of hard work, New Zealand will be disappointed with the outcome as they had the contest firmly in their grip.
On the penultimate day, replying to New Zealand’s lead of 175, South African top-order was blown away as the hosts’ bowlers were right on money. Those who were dismissed for cheap were Dean Elgar, Theunis de Bruyn, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy and Temba Bavuma. Jeetan Patel ended with figures of 2 for 22 while Colin de Grandhomme and Matt Henry shared a wicket apiece. New Zealand were also benefitted by an embarrassing collapse between Amla and de Bruyn, which had resulted in the dismissal of the former.
On a rain-affected third and final Test, South Africa opted to bat and lost three wickets in the opening session of Day One with debutant de Bruyn and Elgar falling for single digits to Henry and de Grandhomme respectively. Duminy continued to have a poor run as he fell for 20, handing Henry his second wicket after being lucky thrice: twice with wrong DRS calls followed by Neil Broom spilling a catch at extra cover. The next session saw Amla on his way back to the pavilion after bringing up his first fifty in the series. Amla needs 67 more to become the fourth South African to complete 8,000 Test runs.
South Africa entered Day Two rejuvenated after losing three hours of play on Day One with du Plessis and Bavuma adding pressure on the New Zealand bowlers. However, Henry claimed his third wicket in form of Bavuma for 29, who added 51 with his skipper. But it was the injured de Kock and du Plessis who repaired the South African innings. But the tourists could do nothing against the brilliance of Tom Latham, whose nimble effort at short leg handed du Plessis one of his most shock dismissals, off Mitchell Santner. Du Plessis made 53.
De Kock managed to frustrate the New Zealand bowlers as he smashed a gritty 118-ball 90, building crucial partnerships along the way with du Plessis (42), Vernon Philander (29), Keshav Maharaj (30) and Kagiso Rabada (46). During his short innings in which Philander made 11, he was able to complete 1,000 Test runs and also become the sixth South African to score 1,000 runs and 100 wickets.
Meanwhile, Rabada went past his highest Test score, smashing a rapid 31-ball 34 with 6 fours and 1 six before he became a victim of Neil Wagner, which ended South Africa’s innings at 314. Wagner claimed two more wickets in form of Maharaj and de Kock.
Responding to South Africa’s 314, New Zealand’s opening pair of Latham and Jeet Raval added the highest opening stand of 83 in this series. But Morne Morkel announced his comeback, claiming his 250th Test wicket, dismissing Latham for 50. After that, it was Williamson and Raval’s show as they broke several records.
Williamson broke as well as equalled a record held previously by Martin Crowe. Williamson became the quickest from New Zealand to score 5,000 Test runs, and achieved the feat in 110 innings, which is 7 fewer to Crowe. Williamson also slammed his 17th Test century, equalling the New Zealand legend. Williamson also scored his fifth score in excess of 150 and set the highest individual total against South Africa at home, by going past Scott Styris’ 170 which came at Auckland in 2004.
Meanwhile, Raval went past his highest Test score of 80 which he had recorded earlier in this series at Wellington. Williamson and Raval also stitched a190-stand for the second wicket, going past their previous best of 102 at Dunedin.
After Morkel claimed his second wicket of Raval, Rabada claimed a couple of wickets in quick succession, in form of Neil Broom (12) and Henry Nicholls (2). New Zealand neede stability and Santner added 88 runs with Williamson that took New Zealand’s lead to 83. Morkel broke the stubborn stand and got his third scalp in form of Williamson. Soon, Rabada claimed his third as well and got Santner for 41.
Grandhomme brought up his maiden Test fifty, adding important partnerships on the way with BJ Watling (46), Henry (34) and Patel (12). With the fall of de Grandhomme for 57, New Zealand ended their innings at 489. Rabada and Morkel shared four-fors while Maharaj ended with figures of 2 for 118.
South Africa’s opening pair continued to look out of sorts in the second innings with New Zealand having a daunting lead of 175. De Bruyn, who was nervous to play as an opener in the first, looked cautious in the second innings and was off the mark with the first boundary of his Test career off de Grandhomme. Meanwhile, Elgar struggled to find the gaps to hit the short balls of Henry in the first over. While de Bruyn hit 3 boundaries early on, Elgar failed to get more than 1.
De Grandhomme continued his brilliance this time with the ball as he had Elgar dismissed off an outside edge caught by Watling. Amla, in at No.3, kept nudging the deliveries wide outside the off stump that was unusual from the experienced batsmen. In the 12th over, Amla worked a Wagner delivery to mid-off and set off for a single. In between he had a horrible mix-up with de Bruyn, who ultimately was run-out by the Watling, while Amla landed safe at the non-strikers end.
Amla and Duminy tried to rebuild South Africa after two early blows. They added 24 for the second wicket that consisted of 2 fours and a six. However, Amla, who was struggling with the wide deliveries, was dismissed off Patel with a thick outside edge that flew to de Grandhomme at the first slip. Four overs later, Duminy shouldered his arms to the spinner and South Africa were brought down to 50 for 4.
Du Plessis continued losing partners when Bavuma was also caught behind by Watling with Henry claiming his first wicket from the second delivery off his second spell. Since, du Plessis and de Kock kept South Africa stable, even if it meant giving away two consecutive maiden overs to New Zealand.
Moving at a mere 1 run per over, the captain and wicketkeeper-batsman finished their day playing on similar scores of 15.
Brief scores:
South Africa 314 & 80 for 5 (Hashim Amla 19, Faf du Plessis 15*, Quinton de Kock 15*; Jeetan Patel 2 for 22) drew with New Zealand 489 (Tom Latham 50, Jeet Raval 88, Kane Williamson 176, Colin de Grandhomme 57; Morne Morkel 4 for 100)
Man of the Match: Kane Williamson
