New Zealand gave themselves probably the best chance of putting it across to South Africa with a committed effort in the field, restricting them to a modest 209 for 9 under sunny skies at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth. A 90-run partnership between Mark Boucher and Shaun Pollock - who helped himself to a hard-working fifty, helped South Africa wriggle out of a tricky situation, before a late cameo from Andre Nel boosted them to a respectable total.
It was still a commendable recovery by South Africa, who were struggling at 66 for 5. The top order wilted under the pressure created at the start by an incisive opening burst from Kyle Mills, backed by restrictive spells from the two-pronged spin attack of Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel.
Mills meant business from the start as Herschelle Gibbs - returning to the side after an injury - and Graeme Smith were lured into the trap of playing outside the off stump, resulting in edges to the slip cordon. The catching and anticipation was sharp and agile, and New Zealand, sensing an opportunity to make further inroads, threw themselves in the field, plugging the gaps in the first Powerplay.
Mark Gillespie then trapped AB de Villiers at the crease with a delivery that maintained its line after pitching. At 20 for 3, the pressure began to tell particularly on Jacques Kallis, who was uncharacteristically scratchy in a situation tailor-made for him. Attempts at shuffling across the stumps to unsettle the bowler's rhythm were met with little or no success. An attempted upper-cut missed the outside edge by a whisker and the fielders patrolling the inner circle were kept busy each time Kallis attempted something different.
JP Duminy promised plenty with a couple of smooth drives on the front foot off Mills. However, a rush of blood cut short his stint at the crease as he attempted to loft Patel over deep midwicket. A short-arm pull by Kallis past midwicket brought much-needed cheer to the crowd which had gone quiet, but the Men in Black were the only ones celebrating the next ball, as Kallis stepped down and scooped the ball down deep-backward point's throat.
The rebuilding act by Boucher and Pollock wasn't electrifying but effective as they rotated the strike against Patel and Vettori. The first ten overs of the stand had little in market value - only 26 came off it - but the passage of play after the drinks interval followed a slightly different script. Pollock was fed with three gifts in succession by Gillespie - scooping two over backward point and dispatching the third back past the bowler - and suddenly the next ten overs yielded 58.
With the South African innings gaining momentum, Vettori pushed the fielders back. Boucher, in search of his fifty, attempted to launch Vettori down town but closed the face of the bat at the point of contact, failing to get the required distance. Pollock, who survived a close shout for caught behind off Patel, reached his fifty off a beamer by Gillespie but the bowler had the final say, cleaning him up with a yorker on middle and leg.
A sharp catch at deep midwicket by Lou Vincent dismissed Johan Botha but the best entertainment was to come when Nel walked in. Mills, not the best bowler at the death, was at the receiving end of Nel's willow. He helped himself to two boundaries - one slashed past gully and the other biffed to square leg, followed by a six over deep cover. Nel finished the innings in style with a six off Gillespie, giving South Africa hope. Still, the target of 210 could be tricky, keeping in mind the difficulties teams have had in chasing under lights, with the easterly winds blowing across the ground.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
It was still a commendable recovery by South Africa, who were struggling at 66 for 5. The top order wilted under the pressure created at the start by an incisive opening burst from Kyle Mills, backed by restrictive spells from the two-pronged spin attack of Daniel Vettori and Jeetan Patel.
Mills meant business from the start as Herschelle Gibbs - returning to the side after an injury - and Graeme Smith were lured into the trap of playing outside the off stump, resulting in edges to the slip cordon. The catching and anticipation was sharp and agile, and New Zealand, sensing an opportunity to make further inroads, threw themselves in the field, plugging the gaps in the first Powerplay.
Mark Gillespie then trapped AB de Villiers at the crease with a delivery that maintained its line after pitching. At 20 for 3, the pressure began to tell particularly on Jacques Kallis, who was uncharacteristically scratchy in a situation tailor-made for him. Attempts at shuffling across the stumps to unsettle the bowler's rhythm were met with little or no success. An attempted upper-cut missed the outside edge by a whisker and the fielders patrolling the inner circle were kept busy each time Kallis attempted something different.
JP Duminy promised plenty with a couple of smooth drives on the front foot off Mills. However, a rush of blood cut short his stint at the crease as he attempted to loft Patel over deep midwicket. A short-arm pull by Kallis past midwicket brought much-needed cheer to the crowd which had gone quiet, but the Men in Black were the only ones celebrating the next ball, as Kallis stepped down and scooped the ball down deep-backward point's throat.
The rebuilding act by Boucher and Pollock wasn't electrifying but effective as they rotated the strike against Patel and Vettori. The first ten overs of the stand had little in market value - only 26 came off it - but the passage of play after the drinks interval followed a slightly different script. Pollock was fed with three gifts in succession by Gillespie - scooping two over backward point and dispatching the third back past the bowler - and suddenly the next ten overs yielded 58.
With the South African innings gaining momentum, Vettori pushed the fielders back. Boucher, in search of his fifty, attempted to launch Vettori down town but closed the face of the bat at the point of contact, failing to get the required distance. Pollock, who survived a close shout for caught behind off Patel, reached his fifty off a beamer by Gillespie but the bowler had the final say, cleaning him up with a yorker on middle and leg.
A sharp catch at deep midwicket by Lou Vincent dismissed Johan Botha but the best entertainment was to come when Nel walked in. Mills, not the best bowler at the death, was at the receiving end of Nel's willow. He helped himself to two boundaries - one slashed past gully and the other biffed to square leg, followed by a six over deep cover. Nel finished the innings in style with a six off Gillespie, giving South Africa hope. Still, the target of 210 could be tricky, keeping in mind the difficulties teams have had in chasing under lights, with the easterly winds blowing across the ground.
Kanishkaa Balachandran is an editorial assistant at Cricinfo
© Cricinfo
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