After being thoroughly outplayed in the first game, New Zealand bounced back with vengeance. They lost the toss and were inserted into bat first. There was no looking back for New Zealand after that. The hosts brought smiles to the face of the fans as they rode on a spectacular half-century from Devon Conway while a cameo in the end from Josh Clarkson took them to the 175-run mark in 20 overs.
While defending the score, New Zealand went about their way getting wickets at regular intervals as Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears picked up 3 wickets apiece while captain Mitchell Santner picked up 2 wickets as well as South Africa never got going and George Linde’s 33 off 12 balls took the Proteas past 100 runs. A massive win for New Zealand to level the series 1-1 as we are set now for a best of three matches from here.
Devon Conway’s superlative half-century powers New Zealand to 175/6 in 20 overs
Put into bat first, Devon Conway and keeper batter Tom Latham opened the batting for New Zealand while Gerald Coetzee had ball in hand for South Africa. Conway was quickly off the blocks while Latham played second fiddle. The duo gave the team a steady start inside the powerplay. The Kiwis went through the powerplay unscathed and were 43/0 in 6 overs.
The duo put on 48 for the first wicket before Latham who was playing second fiddle fell for 11 off 10 balls with one four and one six to his name to captain Keshav Maharaj. Tim Robinson came out to bat next. Robinson too did not last long as the duo added only 7 runs to the tally before Robinson fell for 1 off 3 balls to George Linde who cleaned him up. Nick Kelly came out to bat next. Kelly and Conway tried to forge some sort of a partnership as he was quickly off the blocks.
The duo maintained a good tempo and added a nice stand. The duo added 37 runs for the third wicket before Kelly fell for a quickfire 21 off 12 balls with 4 fours to his name to Wiaan Mulder who cleaned him up as well. Captain Mitchell Santner came out to join Conway in the middle who was holding the innings together. Conway and Santner added another 28 runs for the 4th wicket before Santner fell for 20 off 14 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Ottniel Baartman. Jimmy Neesham came out to bat next.
Conway played the ball to the merit and got yet another half-century and tried to carry forward the innings till the end. Conway and Neesham added just 4 runs to the tally before the well set Conway fell for 60 off 49 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Wiaan Mulder. Cole McConchie joined Neesham in the middle. Neesham struggled for timing while McConchie was hitting the big shots under pressure. Neesham and McConchie added 16 runs to the tally before Neesham fell for 8 off 11 balls to Gerald Coetzee.
Josh Clarkson came out to bat with 2.1 overs to go in the innings and the score was 140/6 at this stage. Clarkson was quick off the blocks and provided the perfect finish for the Kiwis. He played the role of a finisher as 35 runs came in the last 2.1 overs i.e. 13 balls as the batter was in total control of proceedings.
Clarkson scored 26 off them off 9 balls. In the end, McConchie remained unbeaten on 18 off 12 balls with one four and one six to his name while Clarkson was unbeaten on 26 off 9 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name as New Zealand amassed 175/6 in 20 overs. 10 extras given by the fielding side.
It was hard work for South Africa bowlers. Wiaan Mulder managed to pick up 2/14 in 2 overs. Gerald Coetzee bowled well for his 1/28 in 4 overs. Ottniel Baartman finished with 1/31 in 4 overs. Keshav Maharaj finished with 1/45 in 3 overs. George Linde finished with 1/33 in 3 overs. Nqobani Mokoena bowled well and finished with 0/22 in 4 overs. The target now for South Africa to go 2-0 ahead in the 5-match series is 176 runs off 20 overs.
Lockie Ferguson & Ben Sears combine to knock South Africa for 107 in 15.3 oversÂ
Chasing 176 for the win, Wiaan Mulder and keeper batter Connor Esterhuizen opened the batting for South Africa while Kyle Jamieson had ball in hand for New Zealand. The duo managed to get the team off to a steady start. The duo added 29 runs for the first wicket before Connor fell for 8 off 12 balls with one six to his name to Ben Sears. Tony de Zorzi came out to bat next. The score remained static for the next over or so before Mulder fell at the same team score for 16 off 20 balls with one four and one six to his name to Mitchell Santner the captain of New Zealand.
Rubin Hermann came out to bat next. At the end of the powerplay, South Africa were 31/2 in 6 overs. But the Proteas lost a wicket immediately after powerplay as Tony de Zorzi fell for 1 off 4 balls to Cole McConchie. Jason Smith came out to bat with the Proteas in trouble at Hamilton. Rubin and Jason tried to put on some sort of a stand and added 28 runs for the 4th wicket before Rubin fell for 19 off 12 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Jimmy Neesham.
Dian Forrester came out to bat next. Dian and Jason added 8 more runs to the tally before Smith fell for 12 off 13 balls with one four to his name to Santner. George Linde came out to bat next to join Forrester in the middle. The game was as good as over as the Proteas had lost half their side for 67 in 10.4 overs. Linde played some shots as the duo added 22 runs for the 6th wicket before Forrester fell for 10 off 10 balls with one four to his name to Sears.
Gerald Coetzee came out to bat next. It was a procession of wickets from here. Just two runs were added to the tally before Coetzee fell for 2 off 2 balls to Sears yet again. Captain Keshav Maharaj came out to the middle and went away as well. Just one run was added to the tally before Maharaj fell for a golden duck to Lockie Ferguson. Nqobani Mokoena came out to bat next and fell first ball to Ferguson who had two wickets in two balls and was on a hat-trick. Ottniel Baartman came and survived the ball.
Linde continued to play his shots and took the team past the 100-run mark to give South Africa some respectability. Linde scored all of the 15 runs for the last wicket stand before the in batter fell for 33 off 12 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name to Lockie Ferguson as the Proteas were bowled out for 107 in 15.3 overs. Baartman was unbeaten on 0 off 6 balls as 6 extras were given by the fielding side.
New Zealand bowlers put on an impressive bowling display. Lockie Ferguson finished with 3/16 in 3.3 overs. Ben Sears finished with 3/14 in 3 overs. Mitchell Santner the captain finished with 2/19 in 3 overs. Cole McConchie finished with 1/24 in 2 overs while Jimmy Neesham finished with 1/10 in 1 over. Kyle Jamieson finished with 0/22 in 3 overs. So, New Zealand thrash South Africa by 68 runs to level the series 1-1. Devon Conway was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies AheadÂ
So, the series is level at 1-1 between New Zealand and South Africa with 3 more games to go in this 5-match series. The action returns on Friday at Eden Park in Auckland for the 3rd T20I on 20th March, 2026 at 11:45 AM IST. Which team will edge ahead in the series? So, far we have seen one-sided games contrasting ones at that. Will we see a close one on Friday night. Only time will tell.
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