South Africa v New Zealand 2nd ODI: 5 Talking Points

Coming into the 2nd ODI match, the Kiwi side was under the pump as South African’s were leading the ODI series 1-0 and were just one win away from sealing the 3-match ODI series. And the Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson was up to the task as he brought Doug Bracewell, Ben Wheeler and George Worker in final XI to turnaround team’s fading fortunes. The Kiwi bowlers made the life of the Proteas batters difficult and restricted their innings to 204 runs. In reply the Kiwi openers amassed an opening partnership of 126 runs to dent any chances of South Africa’s comeback in the match.

The New Zealand team won the match comprehensively by 8 wickets and leveled the ODI series 1-1.

Here is the South Africa v New Zealand 2nd ODI: 5 Talking Points:

1. Pitch conditions:

The pitch at Senwes Park is known to be flat and generally doesn’t have much in it for the bowlers. And the South African side has made the most of it in the matches they have played here so far. Generally totals in excess of 300 runs have been a cakewalk for the batting side here. But in the 2^nd ODI match that was certainly not the case. The pitch was slow and sticky and the ball didn’t come on to the bat as well as the hosts would have liked. And South Africa’s weakness on slow pitches where they find it hard to use the pace of the ball was once again exposed.

2. Disciplined bowling of Kiwi’s:

The New Zealand bowlers put up a disciplined show at Potchefstroom and used the pitch conditions to the very best. Though the pitch didn’t aid the fast bowlers much but yet Kiwi pacers bowled shrewdly and varied their pace much to the demise of the Proteas batsmen.The comeback man Doug Bracewell grabbed 3 scalps while Adam Milne took 2 wickets. While the likes of Ben Wheeler and Grant Elliot tightened the screws with their accurate bowling and deceptive variations.

3. Failure of South African batting:

The South African batsmen didn’t show any resistance whatsoever on a pitch which was beyond their comfort zone. Over the years they have been troubled by the pitch which has been slow-paced. The Proteas openers Amla and Van Wyk faltered and after that the South African’s could never stage a comeback in the match. Their key man AB de Villiers got deceived on the bowling of Grant Elliott as the ball bounced and nipped more than he anticipated. Between 16 to 33 overs they could manage only 67 runs while in the last 5 overs they lost four wickets for 16 runs.

4. New Zealand’s opening partnership:

After the hosts got bundled out for 204 runs, Kiwis were well aware that they had won one facet of the game. The Kiwi openers Tom Latham and Martin Guptill added 126 runs for the first wicket and ensured that there were no hiccups from the tourists upfront. Martin Guptill had his share of luck as he was dropped thrice in the innings but Tom Latham looked more solid of the two and played some crisp shots. By the time hosts scalped the 1^st wicket, New Zealand were already miles ahead in the game and required just 79 more runs to win.

5. Farhaan Behardien’s knock:

When Farhaan Behardien came to the crease, the South African side was tottering at 76/4 with key players like AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and David Miller back in the hut. But the 31 year-old rose up to the occasion and adapted himself well on a slow pitch. He played sensibly throughout the innings and kept rotating the strike to keep the scoreboard ticking. But he ran out of partners and ultimately had to go for the big shot which brought about his downfall. He scored 70 runs off 87 balls with 5 fours and a six.