After winning the last two T20Is convincingly, it was New Zealand‘s turn to face defeat as they went down by 19 runs. The visitors South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first and scored an above par score. New Zealand had their moments in the game but were unable to grab the big moments in the game. This meant that the series is now level at 2-2 with one game to play which will be the decider on Wednesday at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. We will try and decipher three reasons for their stunning defeat in 4th T20I.
Inability to stop Connor Esterhuizen pegged New Zealand back
South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first. But New Zealand got off to a perfect start as Mulder was dismissed by Kyle Jamieson. But the joy was short-lived for the host nation as Connor Esterhuizen walking at Number 3 just counter-attacked and took the game to the Kiwis. The keeper batter joined Tony de Zorzi and put on a 81-run stand for the second wicket to lay the base for the visitors. Connor dominated the partnership while Tony played second fiddle.
The Kiwi bowlers bowled bad lines and lengths and made it easier for Connor. While they kept the other batters at bay, they simply did not have an answer for Connor who blazed away to a half-century. By the time Connor was dismissed, the score had already reached 81 and he was out for 57 as the platform was set for the other batters who drove home the advantage in a sensible manner and took the score to 164 which was above par in the end.
Going forward, New Zealand will have to devise a plan in order to get the better of Connor and stem the flow of runs. Better plans and strategies need to be in place for Connor by the Kiwis in the deciding game at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. Same plans could turn out to be disastrous for the home side.
Losing wickets in clusters at regular intervals in middle phase seals fate of New Zealand in chase
The chase began on a positive note for the Kiwis as Katene Clarke and Tim Robinson put on 28 inside the first three overs for the first wicket before Clarke fell. Robinson his opening partner too fell inside the powerplay but not before 50 had been breached inside 5 overs. The Kiwis despite losing a couple of wickets in powerplay were in a decent position at 63/2 in 6 overs. But it is the middle phase of the game that cost the game and sealed the fate of New Zealand in the game.
The Kiwis lost 6 wickets in a span of 9 overs post the powerplay in the middle phase to be 8 down for 120 odd in the 15th over and the game was sealed by then. Dane Cleaver was the third wicket to fall when score was 76. Bevon John Jacobs was the fourth to fall at 88. Jimmy Neesham was the 5th to fall at 95. Nick Kelly fell when score was 111. Cole McConchie fell at the score of 112 and Zak Foulkes fell in the 15th over at the score of 120.
To put things into perspective, New Zealand were 76/2 in the 9th over and were suddenly 120/8 in 14.4 overs. The Kiwis lost 6/44 in this period, again not a dramatic collapse, but a collapse nonetheless. These collapses are not acceptable and New Zealand must avoid these mini or major collapses at all costs if they wish to win their maiden bilateral series against South Africa in T20Is. They have to improve from this performance for sure.
Underperformance of captain Jimmy Neesham hurts New ZealandÂ
With Tom Latham ruled out of this game injured, Jimmy Neesham led the side for the first time this evening in Wellington. He started from losing the toss and then lost the plot as well. Neesham failed to perform with both and ball in hand. While all the New Zealand bowlers tried and bowled decently by taking wickets and keeping the run flow down, Jimmy Neesham was getting belted as the skipper of New Zealand was taken to the cleaners going for 49 in 4 overs.
With bat in hand, he came into bat at 6, to play the role of extra batter and finisher’s role. He had an indifferent day with the ball and was no better with the bat either. He came in when New Zealand needed a partnership to make a match out of it. Had Neesham contributed and shone with the bat, who knows the Kiwis could have pulled it off as the victory margin was 19 runs. But he was a flop with the bat too scoring 6 off 8 balls at less than run a ball.
With a young side at disposal and possibly no Latham for the series decider, Neesham the all-rounder has to come to the party with series on the line. He has to lead from the front with bat, ball and in the field for New Zealand to do well in what is now the series decider. Neesham could be the X-factor and could be the one leading from the front should New Zealand wish to win and the series 2-1.
What Lies Ahead
So, the series is level at 2-2 between South Africa and New Zealand after 4 games. We are all set and geared up for the series decider for the 5th and final T20I at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Wednesday 25th of January, 2026. Which team will have the bragging rights in the winners takes all match. We shall find that out on Wednesday.
Also Read: NZ VS SA: Connor Esterhuizen’s Half-Century Helps South Africa Level Series 2-2.