New Zealand vs South Africa 3rd T20I Highlights: New Zealand Dominate South Africa For 2-1 Series Lead

Welcome back for New Zealand's reply. Keshav Maharaj and his men make their way out to the centre. Devon Conway and Tom Latham will open the innings for the home side. Gerald Coetzee has been tossed the new ball. Conway to face the first ball. A slip in place. Here we go!

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Can New Zealand take the lead? New Zealand are in the driver's seat as we reach the halfway mark in the game. They have much more experience in their batting line-up as compared to the Proteas bowling group. South Africa need a couple of wickets inside the Powerplay. Can they do it? Stay tuned to find out as the chase is up next...

A quick chat with the Kiwi speedster - Lockie Ferguson says that it is a challenging surface for the batters and bowlers get some extra bounce, so he likes to play here. He adds that they play in different conditions, and they try to adjust to the conditions. He mentions that there is a bit in the wicket for the bowlers and ends by saying that their batters will have to work hard.

South Africa's rescue job! George Linde and Gerald Coetzee briefly sparked a recovery, staging a gritty 34-run rescue act in just 19 deliveries, but the hopes of a competitive total were extinguished by a clinical double-wicket over from Kyle Jamieson. New Zealand’s bowling unit remained relentless from start to finish, with Jamieson and Lockie Ferguson setting a hostile tone with the new ball while Mitchell Santner maintained the pressure by striking in his very first over. It was a complete team performance barring that final over, evidenced by the fact that every one of the six bowlers used finished the innings with at least one wicket to their name.

The conditions suited the Kiwi bowlers! Sent into bat under challenging conditions, South Africa struggled to adapt to a pitch that offered significant assistance to the New Zealand seamers. The Kiwis exploited the surface effectively, relentlessly hitting a hard length and using the straight, shorter boundaries to squeeze the Proteas' batters. Rather than showing tactical restraint, South Africa attempted to force their shots, leading to a disastrous collapse. They slumped to four wickets down within the Powerplay and were reeling at 62 for 6 by the halfway mark.

South Africa end well - A decent recovery from South Africa, but the total does not seem daunting enough. However, Nqobani Mokoena's innings has given the Proteas something to bowl at, but as things stand, the Kiwis have used the home conditions brilliantly and are front-runners to win the match.

SIX! An ideal finish to the innings for South Africa. Kyle Jamieson bowls the leg-cutter into the surface, over middle. Nqobani Mokoena makes room and gets his hands high to nail the pull over deep mid-wicket for a biggie. 10 runs off the final over. South Africa end up with 136.

FOUR! Nqobani Mokoena finally gets one away. Jamieson fails to get the yorker in. This is on a length, following the batter. Mokoena swings for the hills. Gets a thickish inside edge and the ball goes to the left of short fine leg for a four.

Great stuff! Angles in a yorker, at the toes. Nqobani Mokoena gets the front leg out of the way and swings across the line as one hand comes off the bat handle. He misses and the ball goes through his legs before going to the keeper.

An opportunity missed! Jamieson varies his length as he bends his back and digs it in short, over middle. Nqobani Mokoena goes hard on the pull but misses. There was a noise as the ball went past the bat, but no one from the Kiwi camp showed any interest. Well, well, the UltraEdge shows a spike, confirming the edge.

Gets the yorker in, this tails back in at the toes. Mokoena drops his bat down but the ball sneaks past the inside edge and goes through his legs on the way to the keeper.

Leg-cutter, on a short of a length, on middle. Nqobani flicks it off the hips to deep square leg but does not take the single.

Pace on now, fuller as well, on off. Nqobani Mokoena slices it to deep point and keeps the strike with a single.

SIX! That has gone back many a mile! Sears bangs the off-cutter into the surface, outside off. Nqobani Mokoena gets the width to work with. He frees his arms and slaps it over extra cover for a biggie.

Nails the yorker, right at the base of the off stump. Nqobani Mokoena digs it out.

Leg-cutter, on a length, outside off, Nqobani Mokoena swings for the hills but does not pick the change of pace and misses.

A big mix-up but they get away with it! On a good length, on off. Lutho Sipamla swings to launch it down the ground but slices it in front of mid off. Nqobani Mokoena sets off for the run before being sent back by his partner. Mitchell Santner gets to the ball quickly by moving to his left and fires in a throw at the bowling end but misses with Mokoena nowhere in the frame. The batters eventually cross over as the ball goes towards square leg.

Full and outside off. Nqobani Mokoena smears it in front of square on the leg side and gets to the other end.

Leg bye! Strays on the pads, on a good length, Mokoena fails to get it away on the glance. A leg bye is taken as the ball goes behind square leg. Ferguson ends with impressive figures of 4-0-9-1.