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New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner lauded his team's all-round performance after the Blackcaps defeated South Africa by eight wickets in the third T20I of the five-match series, at Auckland on Friday. South Africa captain Keshav Maharaj, on the other hand, pointed out his team's inability to adapt but also noted that the team still has a chance to make a comeback.
New Zealand's win was powered by a sensational bowling performance that restricted South Africa to just 136/9 in 20 overs. Lockie Ferguson (1/9 in 4 overs), Mitchell Santner (2/21 in 3 overs) and Ben Sears (2/27 in 4 overs) shone with the ball for the hosts, while Kyle Jamieson, Cole McConchie and James Neesham also chipped in with crucial contributions. Chasing, 137, New Zealand openers Devon Conway (39) and Tom Latham (unbeaten 63) made sure the Kiwis got over the line with eight wickets remaining in 16.2 overs. Speaking at the post-match presentation, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner said the team planned to exploit the conditions by bowling first and making things difficult for South Africa with seam and bounce. He praised the fast bowlers, especially Ben Sears and Kyle Jamieson, for sticking to a simple approach, while also highlighting James Neesham's crucial contribution. He acknowledged the chase had its challenges due to sharp bowling from Gerald Coetzee, but credited the openers for handling the pressure well. Overall, he was pleased with the team's bowling effort and their adaptability in the conditions. "A new team to this ground, we wanted to put them in and make it hard for them. There was a good amount of seam, bounce. You look at the depth in our fast bowling, you see, Sears and Jamieson, it was a simple blueprint today: whack the wicket and also some slower balls. Neesham's three overs were also massive for us," Santner said. "The chase looked tricky since Gerald bowled rockets but it was good to see the two boys, the openers, soak it up. But you can afford to do it when chasing 137. What was nice was that we were chopping and changing our bowlers, but the boys were raring to go irrespective. We bowled very well in these conditions," he added. Keshav Maharaj, on the other hand, admitted South Africa fell behind as they lost wickets early (46/5) and struggled to recover, though the lower order added some respectability to the total. He felt the team lacked adaptability in the first half of the innings, but remained hopeful about a comeback in the series and stressed the need to be more clinical in both batting and bowling. "We lost wickets early and it's tough to recover from 46 for 5. But the lower order rallied to give us some runs on the board. But the batting we did in the first ten overs really put us behind. We weren't adaptable enough and couldn't adjust. We are a young side, not to make excuses, but we want to take the lessons quicker. Beauty of the series is that we've still got a chance to make a comeback. Want to be more clinical with bat and ball in the next game," he said.Both teams will now meet in the 4th T20I on Sunday at the Sky Stadium in Wellington. (ANI)
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