NZ VS SA MATCH 5

That will be curtains on today's game. It was a rehearsal before the finals, and it's safe to say New Zealand, having won this game, will go into the finals with a psychological advantage over South Africa. However, South Africa would like to look at this as a one-off day and would look to come back strong in the finals. Nonetheless, there's one more group stage game left before the Tri-Series finals, and that will be between Zimbabwe and New Zealand on 24th July, Thursday, at 11 AM GMT. Join us early for the pre-match analysis as we build up to the game. Until then, take care, and cheers!

Tim Seifert is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. Tim expressed that winning Player of the Match is a confidence booster, but he emphasized that it's a testament to the team's great collective performance. He noted that adapting to different bowling styles, whether it's the taller bowlers of Zimbabwe or the skiddy bowlers of South Africa, requires a similar approach to scoring runs. Seifert described the wicket as challenging, where batsmen struggle to settle in and need to grind out their innings.

Mitchell Santner, New Zealand Captain, says that he was thrilled with his team's bowling performance in the powerplay, describing it as outstanding. He emphasized that taking wickets in the Powerplay is crucial in setting up a strong position in the match. Santner also appreciated the spin-friendly conditions, noting that such surfaces are rare in New Zealand. He commended Zakary Foulkes and Will O'Rourke for their impressive bowling and acknowledged the importance of fine-tuning their strategy in the lead-up to the final.

Rassie van der Dussen, South African Captain, starts by saying they weren't good enough. He mentions that the ball was doing something early on in their batting innings, and they knew it from the first three games. He adds that they really couldn't recover from the early loss of wickets. He says that it's an experimental phase going on in the batting order and adds that everyone knows how cleanly Lhuan-dre Pretorius hits the ball, and right now it's more a case of looking at different guys in different positions. On Muthusamy's performance, he says that he again came up with a great performance on a personal level. On asked about what they need to do right going into the finals, he says that they probably just need to find the best combination and make sure they are fresh and ready to go on Saturday. He finishes off by saying that if they get it right on Saturday, they can still lift the trophy.

The Presentation Ceremony.....

Earlier in the day, nothing really went to plan for South Africa, as many of their top-order batters got a start but couldn’t kick on. Reeza did anchor the innings, scoring 41 of 37, but he couldn’t really provide the finishing touches to the SA innings. At the fag end of their innings, a useful cameo from George Linde pushed their total to 134 in the end, which eventually proved out to be well below par. For New Zealand, the pick of the bowlers were Adam Milne and Mitchell Santner, who finished their spells with two wickets apiece and finished with an economy rate under 7.

Trying to defend an under-par total of 134, the South African bowlers didn’t have much to show, as, except for Senuran Muthusamy, no one really found it easy to strike at regular intervals. Senuran Muthusamy bowled with a lot of control and guile as he finished with impressive figures of 4-0-24-2.

Tim Seifert played the role of anchor to perfection as he changed gears post powerplay and held on firmly as he eventually stayed not out on 66. He was dropped on 0 by Andile Simelane, and he ensured that he made the South Africans pay for it. Daryl Mitchell played a nice little second fiddle role, staying not out on 20, as he, along with Tim Seifert, put on an unbeaten stand of 51 for the 4th wicket.

New Zealand registers a comfortable win in the end as they romp home with 7 wickets in hand and 4.1 overs to go. New Zealand got off to a rollicking start as the opening duo of Devon Conway and Tim Seifert put on 51 in just 5.1 overs. After that, New Zealand was always in control of the chase in spite of losing Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra in a space of 11 balls.

FOUR! Low and full around the pads, Tim Seifert flicks this behind square on leg for four runs to wrap things up. New Zealand wins this by 7 wickets.

A single taken as DM punches this away.

WIDE! Bumper, down the leg. Wided.

On a length around off, Tim Seifert lofts this short of mid off for one.

Back of a length around leg, Tim Seifert goes for the flick but misses and wears it on his thigh pads.

On a length around off, Daryl Mitchell chips this over cover for one.

Good length on middle and leg, Daryl Mitchell tucks this through mid on for one.

WIDE! Short-pitched, way too high for the umpire's liking. Wided.