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South Africa defeated New Zealand by 19 runs in the fourth T20I held at the Sky Stadium in Wellington on Sunday. This win helped the visitors level the five-match series 2-2.
After South Africa opted to bat first, Wiaan Mulder and Tony de Zorzi (23 off 21 balls) opened the batting. Mulder couldn't score a single run and lost his wicket in the first over of Kyle Jamieson. Connor Esterhuizen came one down and added 81 runs for the second wicket with de Zorzi. Esterhuizen went on to hit his maiden half-century, which helped the Proteas get a flying start. He made 57 runs off 36 balls with the help of seven fours and three sixes. Rubin Hermann and Dian Forrester (19 off 14 balls) added 38 runs for the fourth wicket. Jason Smith also contributed with 19 runs. George Linde (14*) and Hermann (28 not out off 25 balls) remained unbeaten and helped their side post 164/5 in 20 overs. Jamieson took a couple of wickets, whereas Zakary Foulkes, Ben Sears and Cole McConchie took one wicket each. Chasing a challenging target of 165 runs, Tim Robinson opened the batting for New Zealand with debutant Katene Clarke. Clarke hit a couple of boundaries before losing his wicket to Mulder. He made nine runs off just five balls. Robinson (32 off 22 balls) added 24 runs for the second wicket with Dane Cleaver (26 off 16 balls). Proteas kept taking wickets at regular intervals, which didn't let the Blackcaps batters build any big partnerships. McConchie hit a couple of boundaries, but Keshav Maharaj bowled him to affect their run-chase. Gerald Coetzee took the last wicket of Jamieson to halt New Zealand at 145/10. Coetzee took three wickets as Maharaj, Ottneil Baartman and Prenelan Subrayen grabbed a couple of wickets each. Connor Esterhuizen was named Player of the Match for his match-winning knock. The fifth T20I and series decider will be played at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Wednesday. (ANI)
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