New Zealand won the toss and put South Africa in to bat, and the visitors crept to 75 for 4 after 14 overs thanks to some tight spin and aggressive fielding. Justin Ontong changed the pace of the game in the fifteenth over, carting Kane Williamson for four consecutive sixes and going on to share in a 50-run fifth wicket stand with JP Duminy. After this onslaught, South Africa appeared to bat with more self-belief. They scored 46 off the last five overs, with Duminy's 41 the highest of the innings. 

 

Nathan McCullum, who opened with the ball and bowled his allotment of four overs without change, was the best of the Black Caps bowlers, going for 16 runs. When McCullum had Colin Ingram stumped in the fifth over the South Africans' scoring rate began to slow, and the loss of Richard Levi in the next over trapped them further in the mire. Tim Southee took three wickets: Levi, Duminy to a Kyle Mills catch and Ontong athletically caught by Southee himself. 

 

In response, New Zealand built their innings around a not out 78 by Martin Guptill, whose incredible run of form continued despite the higher skill level of the bowling. Perhaps the game-defining moment came in the sixth over of the chase, when Guptill hit Lonwabo Tsotsobe for a 127-metre six. After this moment the role of the other batsmen was to feed Guptill the strike, and he was rightly awarded the Man of the Match for this innings, which came off 55 balls and included five fours and four sixes.

 

Although Morne Morkel looked dangerous at times and Rusty Theron was hard to get away, the South African bowling unit was not as impressive as expected. The wicket didn't appear to suit them, with several short balls in the first few overs sitting up and being dispatched. The overall impression of this match was that although we haven't seen the best of South Africa, the Black Caps are in excellent form and the Proteas will have to be at the top of their game to win.