KIWI KOS

COACH Rob Walter’s New Zealand beat the Proteas by 21 runs in their Zimbabwe T20 tri-series match in Harare on Wednesday.

Chasing 174 runs to win the match, Proteas openers Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Reeza Hendricks had a vinnige start with the bat.

Pretorius (27) in particular had a jitz start to the chase, racing to 27 following six geharde strikes down the ground against Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy (3/20), who took the new ball for the Black Caps.

Henry (3/34) put a stop to the youngster’s dominant start as he induced an edge off the left-handed batter’s bat with wicket-keeper Tim Seifert taking an easy catch behind the stumps to hand the Black Caps their first scalp of the match.

Looking to maintain the left-hand and right-hand combination in the middle, Rubin Hermann was promoted up the order, only for the batter to walk back to the pavilion an over later.

Coach Shukri Conrad persisted with the combination as Senuran Muthusamy was sent in at No.4, ahead of Rassie van der Dussen and Dewald Brevis. That too did not amount to anything as Muthusamy only made seven as the Proteas lost wickets at regular intervals.

Brevis, who walked away with the player-of-the-match award against Zimbabwe on Monday, picked up where he left off, klapping a series of moerse sixes as he transferred the pressure back on the Black Caps’ bowling attack.

George Linde offered resistance towards the backend with a quickfire 30, but his demise ensured that the Kiwis were too good on the day, wrapping up the Proteas innings in 18.2 overs to win the match by 21 runs.

Earlier, the Proteas dominated, reducing the Black Caps to 70/5, led by Kwena Maphaka’s fiery 2/38. However, Tim Robinson (75 not out) and Bevon Jacobs (44 not out) staged a strong comeback, guiding their span to 173/5 with explosive batting.