Chittagong: J P Duminy blasted an unbeaten 86 and Dale Steyn bowled a sensational last over as South Africa pulled of a dramatic two-run win over New Zealand to bring their ICC World Twenty20 campaign back on track, here today.
Riding on Duminy’s blistering knock, South Africa collected 70 runs in the last five overs and posted a challenging 170 for six after being invited to bat in the thrilling Group 1 match.
The left-hander single handedly took his side to a formidable total as he hit 10 fours and three sixes in his 43-ball innings.
The Kiwis were cruising towards the target with Ross Taylor (62) and Kane Williamson (51) batting superbly but leg-spinner Imran Tahir (2/27) and Steyn (4/17) took wickets at key moments to turn the tide in South Africa’s favour.
New Zealand needed seven runs off the last over, in which Steyn scalped two batsmen, effected a run out and conceded just a boundary as the Kiwis ended at 168 for eight.
Steyn was too hot to handle for the Kiwi batsmen as he removed Luke Ronchi off the first ball. He next bowled two dot balls, conceded a four on the fourth and dismissed Nathan McCullum on the fifth. Taylor was at the strike with his side needing three to win off the last ball but he could just connect the ball and ended up running himself out.
South Africa had lost their first match to Sri Lanka while New Zealand had defeated England.
The Kiwis had a steady start with openers Williamson and Martin Guptill (22) raising a 57-run stand in seven overs. Williamson was the chief aggressor as he broke the shackles by punishing pacer Morne Morkel. Williamson smashed Morkel for a six and two fours to collect 16 runs from the fifth over.
Scoreboard:
South Africa
Q. de Kock c Ronchi b Mills 4
Hashim Amla c and b Anderson 41
Faf du Plessis c N. McCullum b Southee 13
AB de Villiers b N. McCullum 5
JP Duminy not out 86
D. Miller c and b Anderson 6
A. Morkel b Southee 13
D. Steyn not out 1
Extras: (w1) 1
Total: (for six wkts; 20 overs) 170
Did not bat: M. Morkel, Imran Tahir, L. Tsotsobe.
Fall of wickets: 1-16 (de Kock), 2-32 (du Plessis), 3-42 (de Villiers), 4-97 (Amla), 5-131 (Miller), 6-159 (A. Morkel).
Bowling: Mills 4-0-29-1, McClenaghan 4-0-30-0 (1w), Southee 4-0-46-2, N. McCullum 4-0-24-1, Anderson 3-0-28-2, Williamson 1-0-13-0
New Zealand
M. Guptill c de Kock b A. Morkel 22
K. Williamson c de Villiers b Steyn 51
B. McCullum st de Kock b Tahir 4
R. Taylor run out 62
C. Munro c Amla b Tahir 7
C. Anderson c Miller b Steyn 7
L. Ronchi c de Kock b Steyn 5
N. McCullum c du Plessis b Steyn 4
T. Southee not out 0
Extras: (lb2, w4) 6
Total: (for eight wkts; 20 overs) 168
Did not bat: K. Mills, M. McClenaghan.
Fall of wickets: 1-57 (Guptill), 2-66 (B. McCullum), 3-117 (Williamson), 4-140 (Munro), 5-148 (Anderson), 6-164 (Ronchi), 7-168 (N. McCUllum), 8-168 (Taylor).
Bowling: Duminy 3-0-30-0, Tsotsobe 4-0-29-0 (1w), Steyn 4-0-17-4, M. Morkel 3-0-50-0 (1w), A. Morkel 2-0-13-1, Tahir 4-0-27-2 (2w).
Result: South Africa win by two runs
Toss: New Zealand
Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Sundaram Ravi (IND)
TV umpire: Paul Reiffel (AUS)
Match referee: Javagal Srinath (IND)
Teams:
New Zealand – Guptill, Williamson, B.McCullum,Taylor, Munro, Anderson, Ronchi, N.McCullum, Southee, Mills, McClenaghan
South Africa – Kock, Amla, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, Duminy, Miller, A. Morkel, Steyn, M Morkel, Tahir, Tsotsobe.
