Super Sixes SRL | SA vs NZ Evaluation Chart - Splendid bowling effort leads SA to easy 12-run win

04/26/2020

After a Temba Bavuma special with the bat, South African bowlers did well to restrict New Zealand from opening their arms in their way to a 12-run victory. While Seifert threatened to take the game away towards the end, it was too little too late as NZ were left to rue their middle-over approach.

Match Review

Temba Bavuma just established a complex fundamental truth of T20 cricket - approach the game with regular hits instead of approaching either end of the spectrum. His innings was not slow, not too fast, but was mighty effective. With QDK helping him out with a fine 41 of his own, Bavuma had the free hand to play it his way, as South Africa were safe in their cocoon. Then came Henrich Klassen and David Miller with the duo with their cameos ensured that South Africa posted a colossal total of 199 runs.

Chasing 200 was always going to be tricky, but Colin Munro seemed to be in a hurry. Defying a quality Dale Steyn powerplay performance, the Kiwi opener scored 29 runs off 14 balls. But that was never going to be enough, with slow batting being the major order of the day in the middle overs. Ross Taylor and Tim Seifert tried their best, only to be left behind, as South Africa won the game by 12 runs.

Turning Point

Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner managed to put some sort of strangulation around the South African batting line-up but once Jimmy Neesham was introduced, it created havoc of sorts. Neesham didn’t bowl badly, but he certainly made Bavuma more comfortable at the crease as the Lions batsman shifted the gear to put up a show of his own.

Highs and Lows

Watching Dale Steyn bowl is a timeless experience in Test cricket. But the thrill that he gives you with the white-ball in hand is no less either and the SRL documented the same with a high-class Steyn spell. The Saffer bowled three powerful overs with the new ball, giving away only 15 runs, and it was definitely the highest point of the game.

Ross Taylor might not be the best bet for a T20I run-chase like he is in ODIs, but he is no slack either. And till the moment he was there, Kiwi fans had hope. But the dismissals of him and Colin de Grandhomme on back-to-back deliveries ensured the end was near. New Zealand need to pull up their socks in times like these to have to be on the right side of the result more often.

Rating Charts

Powerplay exploitation: - South Africa 6.5/10 New Zealand 5/10

The fourth day of the Simulated Reality League saw the wickets slowing down to an extent that batsmen had to take the route of sticking around, instead of bashing right from the word go. Temba Bavuma, the newly-found T20 megastar for South Africa, learnt that from the outset to follow the trend in the third game of the day. Even though Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult were at the top of their game, South Africa would be happy for scoring 53 for 0.

Love him for his fearless batting or hate him for his propensity to play one shot too many, Colin Munro really held the chance to New Zealand’s quest for 200. And the powerplay was the exact representation of that. With a 14-ball 29, he showed the way but perished in the last over to give way too much of a burden on Williamson. 48 runs were all they could manage as the chances seemed increasingly bleak.

Middle overs manoeuvring - South Africa 8.5/10 New Zealand 7/10

After Quinton de Kock’s dismissal in the 9th Over, Bavuma took charge and dominated proceedings with regular hits to the stands. Bavuma tee-ed off, with a 12-run over against Jimmy Neesham, only to never stop again. It was a carnage that we have come to associate “Test specialist” Bavuma with and New Zealand held no chance, as the Saffers accumulated 94 runs in the process during that nine-over period.

While the Kiwis never seemed to take the game away from the Proteas, they pretty much ended up with an almost same number of runs in the middle overs. Surely 15 runs more than their eventual score of 82 in the period would have been much better, but then again, their failure to capitalise in the death resulted in the mess-up.

Death Bowling: South Africa 7/10 New Zealand 5/10

The flow with which Bavuma was operating, it was to Kane Williamson’s credit that he used his resources to hold South Africa to 54 runs in the last six overs. Add to that one over of Lockie Ferguson who conceded 21 runs to squander the advantage. In one sentence, it was a decent effort from the Kiwis that kept South Africa under 200.

70 runs were required in the last 5 Overs and it needed some Andre Russell kind of batting to win the game, but that was not normal right? Sure enough, Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada, with inspiration from Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo, bowled their hearts out to keep New Zealand a “social distance” away from the victory.

Match Frenzy O Meter - Boring

Unlike New Zealand’s run-chase last night, this was a pretty boring game from a neutral stand-point. Some death over thrills were due but the fireworks never arrived.