NZ vs SA

Mitchell Santner (New Zealand captain) : I guess you can look at it either way. I mean, it still looked like it did a lot in second innings, but I think, you know a new team to this ground, you know, put them in, make it hard, obviously bowling hard length. And there was, you know, a good amount of steep bounce, which was quite nice to see for the bowlers. Yeah, it's great. I mean, you look at the depth that we've got at the moment, you know, like you can see as you're coming back, KJ, you know, obviously a few guys away this series. So, but yeah, it's nice to see, you know, I guess it was a simple blueprint tonight. You know, you try to whack the wicket with some cutters as well. It looked like it was doing a little bit early, which was nice to see KJ and Lockie obviously up front. And then I think McConchie, bowled extremely well as well. So it was nice. And Neesh's three overs were actually quite nice for us as well. I mean, it looked tricky. I think Gerald bowled, you know, rockets at the start and was doing a bit. So I think, the way the two boys could soak that up. You go too hard there and you lose a couple early. It makes the chase a little bit challenging. I guess you can afford to do that when you're chasing 130. So I think, they played it perfectly well and it was quite a nice chase in the end. No, I think it was pretty good. Yeah, I think what was nice was, you know, just chopping and changing the bowlers, a lot of guys are ready to go and very clear on what they wanted to do. I think we bowl very well in these conditions here. So, you know, if it keeps on going forward, looks like it might stand up, I think we can do that same stuff again. And then if it's flat, I think what that looks like might be a little bit different. But I think tonight, it was a great game.

Keshav Maharaj (South Africa Captain) : I was really disappointed, to say the least. Obviously in that powerplay, we lost too many wickets and then just never got going. We weren’t scoring, and then still we lose wickets at 46 for 5, if I’m not mistaken. It’s very hard to come back. Then, you know, a little bit of lower-order hitting gave us half a chance. And then, look, I think credit must go to Tom Latham assessing the conditions and just seeing himself through. A few dropped chances here and there, you never know where the game will take you - but I think from my personal perspective, batting the way we did in the first 10 overs really put us on the back foot. I think we weren’t adaptable enough (on assesing the conditions). Obviously, we saw the conditions were really up and down from a bounce perspective, but we never adjusted and still tried to play the way we normally play. So, you know, maybe it’s about adapting quicker rather than later. We are a young, not to make excuse, but hopefully the lessons will have us thinking a little bit quicker. The beauty of this series is we’ve still got a chance to come back in it, but it’s back to the drawing board. Assess conditions better in the next game and hopefully put in a more clinical performance with both bat and ball. I think the way he batted (on Nqobani Mokoena), the way he smacked the ball at the back, he shocked a few of us. And then just the way some of the seamers set the tone up front with the new ball. It was a bit spicy, but they got the balls in the right area and made it very difficult at the start. It’s wonderful to see. I mean, 19 years old, I probably never dreamt of playing international cricket this quickly. And the way he’s gone about his business is absolutely phenomenal. We’re excited to see what the future has for him. I don’t think he knows how good he can be with the bat as well, to be able to strike the ball like that on a sporty wicket. A lot of credit to him.

New Zealand chase down 137 with ease to defeat South Africa by eight wickets.
Batting Highlights (New Zealand):
Tom Latham 63* (55) | Devon Conway 39 (26) | Tim Robinson 17 (17)
Bowling Figures (South Africa):
Lutho Sipamla 1/26 (2.2) | Keshav Maharaj 1/30 (3)
Chasing a modest target of 137, New Zealand got off to a solid start through Devon Conway, who played with positive intent and ensured the required rate remained well under control. His fluent knock laid the perfect foundation for the chase.

Tom Latham then anchored the innings with a composed unbeaten half-century, rotating strike effectively while picking up boundaries at regular intervals. Despite a couple of wickets falling, there was never any real pressure on the batting side.

With Tim Robinson providing brief support, Latham guided New Zealand home comfortably in 16.2 overs, sealing a dominant eight-wicket victory.
Earlier, South Africa were restricted to 136 after struggling to build partnerships, with New Zealand’s bowlers sharing the wickets and maintaining control throughout. A clinical all-round performance ensured a straightforward win for New Zealand.

Lockie Ferguson is the Player of the Match for his bowling effort of 1/9 in 4 overs, here is what he said:

Good day, stoked to be back here in Auckland. Great crowd here as always. Chuffed to bits. (how does he always perform well in Auckland?) The groundsmen do a great job here, if you give them a couple of extra beers they provide some good pace and bounce. I love the energy in the crowd here. 

(squad depth) We have got good depth. Sears has bowled exceptionally well in the series, Kyle bowled well too but did not get the wickets which can happen here but think he will come good in the next couple of games. Sears did the enforcer's job really well today. Have been fortunate to play alongside some great players and really happy to see the talent that is coming through in New Zealand. 

(Was wicket-hunting a thought?) I always go wicket-hunting, tried to go for the wickets but it did not happen. Happy to get the figures. Think Santner and Cole (McConchie) bowled really well too, got some good spin. The boys will like a few more of these wickets (in the next games)

New Zealand have wrapped it up as Tom Latham has guided this team to victory. Good Performance from him, making sure the Kiwis get home comfortably.

16.2 Lutho Sipamla to Nick Kelly, single to mid-on and New Zealand win by 8 wickets with as many as 22 balls remaining thereby taking a 2-1 lead in this 5 match T20I series! Full and at the stumps, Kelly just pushed it to mid-on and sprinted to the other end to seal the second straightforward win for the Kiwis in a row, South Africa have it all to do now in Wellington and Christchurch

16.1 Lutho Sipamla to Tim Robinson, OUT, the umpire raises her finger straightaway but Robinson has taken it up. Looks pretty plumb if there is no bat involved. Skiddy delivery at the stumps, Robinson went back and got beaten as it zipped through a touch low and hit him below the knee roll in front of the stumps

No bat on UltraEdge, three reds and that was hitting the leg stump. Anti-climatic this!

15.6 Nqobani Mokoena to Tom Latham, no run, we will go into over number 17. This time it was full at the stumps from Mokoena, Latham managed to get an inside edge on to pad that went toward square leg. No run there. Still scores level!

15.5 Nqobani Mokoena to Tim Robinson, another cutter into the surface, hard length at the middle and leg stump, Robinson tries to tuck it away but the extra bounce catches his forearm into the body and then rolls nearby on the off side. They sneak a leg-bye, Mokoena still diving away to try and get the run out

15.4 Nqobani Mokoena to Tim Robinson, banges intlo the surface, pace off, follows Robinson down the leg side who in the end sways away from the line. One for the over, signals the ump

15.3 Nqobani Mokoena to Tom Latham, another pace off delivery into the body, Latham with a crouched pull shot down to fine leg for another single

15.1 Nqobani Mokoena to Tom Latham, on a length angling across Latham, he opens the bat face and collects a single down to third man. Just 4 needed now!

14.5 Gerald Coetzee to Tim Robinson, FOUR, just drilled past mid-on off the bottom hand. Was full at the stumps, Robinson made sure he did not miss out on the FREE HIT

A superb over for New Zealand as now they only need 5 runs to win. They have dominated this match throughout and look to see out the game in style.