After the New Zealand Women won earlier in the day, it was turn for the Men to make it a day to remember for New Zealand as the Men’s side crushed South Africa by 8 wickets with over 3 overs to spare to take a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series. After losing the series opener, New Zealand bounced back strongly to record back-to-back comprehensive wins and go ahead in the series. New Zealand won the toss and bowled first and an all-round bowling performance kept the Proteas down to 136/9 in 20 overs.
In reply, Tom Latham starred with the bat and carried his bat with an unbeaten 63 off 55 balls while Devon Conway made 39 off 26 balls in a 96-run opening stand that set up the win. Tim Robinson made 17 while Nick Kelly hit the winning runs as New Zealand got to the target in 16.2 overs. Lockie Ferguson for his exceptional economical figures was adjudged Player of the Match.
All-Round bowling display restricts South Africa to 136/9 in 20 overs
Put into bat first, Tony de Zorzi and Wiaan Mulder came out to open the batting for South Africa while Kyle Jamieson had ball in hand for New Zealand. South Africa got off to a shaky start as just 7 runs were scored on the board when Mulder fell for a 4-ball duck to Lockie Ferguson. Connor Esterhuizen the keeper batter came out to bat next. de Zorzi and Connor tried to forge some partnership and up the rate as they added 19 runs for the second wicket before the keeper batter Connor fell for 15 off 8 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Mitchell Santner.
Jason Smith came out to bat next. Just 10 more runs were added to the tally before de Zorzi fell for 15 off 18 balls with 2 fours to his name to Ben Sears. Rubin Hermann came out to bat next. At the end of the powerplay of 6 overs, South Africa were 41/4. The duo of Smith and Hermann could add just 8 runs to the score before Smith fell for 10 off 7 balls with 2 fours to his name to Santner. Dian Forrester came out to bat next. 2 more runs were added to the tally before Hermann fell for 4 off 8 balls to Cole McConchie.
George Linde came out to bat next. Linde and Forrester tried to rebuild things as the Proteas were 46/5 in 8 overs. Linde looked a bit more fluent than Forrester. The duo managed to add 22 runs for the 6th wicket before Forrester fell for 17 off 15 balls with one four and one six to his name to Jimmy Neesham. Gerald Coetzee came and joined Linde in the middle with the score at 68/6 in 11.1 overs. Linde and Coetzee played their shots and took the innings forward showing some resistance out there in the middle phase of the game.
The duo added an important 34 run stand for the 7th wicket before Linde fell for 23 off 19 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Kyle Jamieson. Captain Keshav Maharaj came out to bat next. Just one run was added to the score when Coetzee fell for 16 off 8 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Jamieson yet again. Nqobani Mokoena came out to bat next and got off the mark with maximum over deep backward square leg.
Mokoena and Maharaj added 9 runs to the score before the captain Maharaj fell for 3 off 8 balls to Ben Sears who knocked him over. Lutho Sipamla came in with the score at 112/9 in 16.2 overs. Sipamla remained a mute spectator as Mokoena struck some lusty blows including a couple of maximums to end the innings as the last wicket pair added a valuable 24 runs unbroken for the last wicket as South Africa ended with 136/9 in 20 overs with Mokoena unbeaten on 26 off 20 balls with one four and three sixes to his name and Sipamla unbeaten on 4 off 5 balls. Just 3 extras given by the fielding side.
All the New Zealand bowlers bowled well. Ben Sears finished with 2/27 in 4 overs. Mitchell Santner the captain ended with 2/21 in 3 overs. Kyle Jamieson ended with 2/42 in 4 overs. Lockie Ferguson ended with 1/9 in 4 overs. Cole McConchie ended with 1/14 in 2 overs. Jimmy Neesham finished with 1/22 in 3 overs. This meant that the target for New Zealand was 137 runs to go 2-1 up in a 5-match T20I series.
Tom Latham’s unbeaten half-century guides the chase past the finishing line easily
Chasing 137 for the win, Devon Conway and keeper batter Tom Latham opened the batting for New Zealand while Gerald Coetzee had ball in hand for South Africa. The Proteas started well with the ball keeping things tight in the first 2-3 overs, but New Zealand with no pressure as such of the run rate weathered the storm nicely. Conway was the aggressor of the two while Latham took his time in the middle. New Zealand at the end of the powerplay were 48/0 in 6 overs.
The duo carried on from there and increased the tempo. Conway was going great while Latham once set came into his own as well. They not only played through the powerplay but also through to the halfway stage of the game which literally killed the contest now as the required rate was no longer an issue for the Kiwis. The dup put on 96 runs inside 11 over before Conway’s innings was cut short on 39 off 26 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to captain Keshav Maharaj. Tim Robinson came out to bat next.
Robinson played according to the situation as Latham switched gears and opened himself up a bit. They were helped along by loads of extras that came their way by the fielding side. Latham soon got to his fifty as well and looked as fluent as ever he has looked so far. The duo came together when 41 was needed for the win, and they added 40 runs for the second wicket before Robinson fell for 17 off 17 balls with 2 fours to his name to Lutho Sipamla.
With scores tied after 16.1 overs, Nick Kelly walked out to the middle and hit the winning run and got off the mark with a tap to mid-on as the victory target was achieved in 16.2 overs. Latham remained unbeaten on 63 off 55 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes to his name while Kelly remained unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball as New Zealand finished with 137/2 in 16.2 overs. 17 extras gifted by the South Africa bowlers.
The South African bowlers had a tough day in the office. Lutho Sipamla finished with 1/26 in 2.2 overs while Keshav Maharaj finished with 1/30 in 3 overs. Gerald Coetzee finished with 0/23 in 4 overs. Nqobani Mokoena finished with 0/25 in 3 overs. George Linde finished with 0/22 in 3 overs. Wiaan Mulder bowled an over for 5 runs. So, New Zealand crush South Africa by 8 wickets with 22 balls to spare. Lockie Ferguson was adjudged the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, New Zealand leads the 5-match series 2-1 now with 2 games to play. The next game takes place on Sunday 22nd of March, 2026 at Wellington from 11:45 AM IST onwards. Will New Zealand seal the series in the nation’s capital or will South Africa bounce back to level the series 2-2 and set up a decider on Tuesday. Find out more about it when we get underway on Sunday.
But it was New Zealand’s day in Auckland as both the men and women’s side came out on top and went 2-1 ahead in their respective series.
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