Keeper batter Connor Esterhuizen shone with the bat with his brilliant half-century that helped South Africa post a competitive total on the board. Connor Esterhuizen stood up and be counted as his 57 helped South Africa post a competitive 164/5 in 20 overs with solid contributions from the other batters playing around him. It was a good all-round batting display that helped South Africa post 164/5 in 20 overs which was a tad over par on that pitch.
In reply, New Zealand never really got going and lost wickets at regular intervals as Gerald Coetzee picked up 3 wickets while the rest of the bowlers like Ottniel Baartman, Prenelan Subrayen, and captain Keshav Maharaj supported him well with 2 wickets apiece each of them as New Zealand were eventually bowled out for 145 in 18.5 overs. A victory for South Africa by 19 runs to level the series 2-2.
Connor Esterhuizen’s brilliant half-century powers South Africa to 164/5 in 20 overs
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Wiaan Mulder and Tony de Zorzi came out to bat for South Africa while Kyle Jamieson had ball in hand for New Zealand. New Zealand got off to the perfect start as Mulder was removed for a silver duck off the second ball of the match to Jamieson. Connor Esterhuizen strode out to the middle next. What followed was the Connor Esterhuizen show as he dominated proceedings out there and Tony de Zorzi gave him great company.
They accelerated and took the powerplay score to 50/1 in 6 overs and the partnership was worth 50 as well. They went beyond that and almost to the 10th over with Connor dominating the partnership and completing his fifty as well. They put on 81 for the second wicket before Connor fell for 57 off 36 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Ben Sears. Rubin Hermann came out to bat next. Just 2 runs were added to the score before de Zorzi fell for 23 off 21 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Cole McConchie.
Dian Forrester came out to bat next to join Rubin Hermann in the middle. The duo then tried to forge another partnership and put on 38 runs for the 4th wicket before Forrester fell for 19 off 14 balls with 2 sixes to his name to Zak Foulkes. Jason Smith came out to bat next with the score at 121/4 in 15 overs for the Proteas. Hermann played the perfect role of an anchor as Jason too played his part in the cameo. The duo added 25 runs in 18 balls before Smith fell for 19 off 14 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Jamieson.
George Linde came out to bat next with two overs to go and the score at 146/5. The duo of Hermann and Linde added 18 runs in the last 12 balls with Linde scoring 14 runs off them and remained unbeaten. Hermann remained unbeaten on 28 off 25 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name while Linde remained unbeaten on 14 off 8 balls with 2 fours to his name. 4 extras given by the fielding side as South Africa finished with a competitive 164/5 in 20 overs. 4 extras given by the fielding side.
The New Zealand bowlers bowled decently. Kyle Jamieson was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/29 in 4 overs. Ben Sears finished with 1/22 in 4 overs. Cole McConchie finished with 1/26 in 4 overs. Zak Foulkes finished with 1/35 in 4 overs. Jimmy Neesham the captain for the night went for 49 in his 4 overs. So, that meant that the target for New Zealand was 165 runs to win the match and clinch the series with a game to spare.
Gerald Coetzee’s 3-wicket haul restricts New Zealand as South Africa level series 2-2
Chasing 165 for the win, Tim Robinson and Katene Clarke came out to open the batting for New Zealand while George Linde had ball in hand for South Africa. The duo gave New Zealand a flying start Robinson was the aggressor of the two. They put on 28 runs for the first wicket before Clarke fell for 9 off 5 balls with 2 fours to his name to Wiaan Mulder.
Dane Cleaver came out to bat next and he came out all guns blazing as well. The 50 came up in no time as 24 runs were added for the second wicket before Robinson fell for 32 off 22 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Gerald Coetzee.
Nick Kelly came out to bat next and the powerplay score was 63/2 in 6 overs. The duo of Kelly and Cleaver added 24 runs for the third wicket before Cleaver fell for 26 off 16 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name. Bevon John Jacobs came out to bat next. Wickets started to crumble for New Zealand in the middle phase of the game. Just 12 runs were added to the tally before Jacobs fell for 3 off 5 balls clean bowled by Prenelan Subrayen. Jimmy Neesham the captain came out to bat next.
Just 7 more runs were added to the score before Neesham fell for 6 off 8 balls with Ottniel Baartman. Cole McConchie came out to bat next. McConchie and Kelly tried to forge some sort of a stand and put on 16 runs for the 6th wicket before Kelly fell for 19 off 20 balls with 2 fours to his name to captain Keshav Maharaj. Josh Clarkson came out to bat next. McConchie played his shots but did not last long. Just one run was added to the tally before McConchie fell for 10 off 5 balls with 2 fours to his name.
Zak Foulkes came out to bat next. The duo added 8 more runs to the tally before Foulkes fell for 7 off 5 balls with one six to his name to Ottniel Baartman. Kyle Jamieson came out to bat next. 14 more runs were added to the tally before Clarkson fell for 10 off 10 balls to Coetzee. Ben Sears was the last man to come out to bat for New Zealand. The last wicket pair added 11 runs to the tally before Jamieson fell for 13 off 9 balls to Coetzee. Sears remained unbeaten on 2 off 8 balls. 8 extras given by the fielding side as New Zealand were bowled out for 145 in 18.5 overs.
For South Africa, Gerald Coetzee was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/31 in 3.5 overs. He was ably supported by Keshav Maharaj who finished with 2/22 in 4 overs. Prenelan Subrayen finished with 2/13 in 3 overs. Ottniel Baartman finished with 2/30 in 4 overs. Wiaan Mulder finished with 1/30 in 3 overs. George Linde bowled an over for 15 runs. So, South Africa win by 19 runs to level the series 2-2. Connor Esterhuizen was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
So, South Africa bounces back to level the series 2-2 with one game to play. Get set for the deciding 5th and final T20I on Wednesday 25th of March, 2026 at Hagley Oval in Christchurch as New Zealand and South Africa meet for one final time with series on the line. Who will come out on top? Only time will tell.
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