Don't Miss

India's CWG 2026 Medal Tally Lowest In 24 Years, Yet Among The Best

Tactical Self-Destruction: How England Threw Away Their World Cup Final Dream

Bundesliga Blueprint: How Zee Plans To Complete India's Football Jigsaw

Manuel Neuer Doesn't Know Where To Stop: Not On The Pitch, Not In His Career

Advertisement

ENG

Login

Dark / Light mode

Oct 9,2026 05:53 PM IST

Ruthless South Africa show class and supremacy

facebook

twitter

WhatsApp

Settings

Select Language

Dark / Light mode

Search

Cricket

arrow-down reddit snapchat twitter facebook comments email printer search bell top-nav reddit-fill snapchat-fill twitter-fill facebook-fill share whatsapp-fill bookmark arrow-rgt arrow-next arrow-up refresh close link cog star book zap cricket football tennis formula-1 badminton hockey golf boxing ndtv-n check left-arrow right-arrow

Live Cricket Matches

India Matches

IPL 2026

Football Matches

ISL

EPL

All Matches

India Matches

EPL

Sports Home Cricket News Ruthless South Africa show class and supremacy

Related Articles

Story ProgressBack to home

Ruthless South Africa show class and supremacy

Man of the match Steyn took three for 48 for match figures of eight for 65 while Morkel took two for 36 as New Zealand were bowled out for 211 on Monday. They needed only a combined 34 deliveries to take the last five wickets.

Read Time: 3 min

Port Elizabeth:

South Africa's ruthless demolition of New Zealand showed why they are ranked the number one team in Test cricket, both captains agreed after the hosts completed an innings win in the second and final Test at St George's Park on Monday.

Fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel used the second new ball to devastating effect as South Africa won by an innings and 197 runs before lunch on the fourth day. It was their second successive innings win against the outclassed New Zealanders.

"It's extremely disappointing," said New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum. "But there has to be an acknowledgement of the difference in class between the two teams. We weren't good enough but we were put under tremendous pressure by a team at the very top of their game."

"We've been very professional," said South African captain Graeme Smith, who hailed the attitude and performance of his players in sustaining the level of play which took them to the number one spot when they won a series in England last year, which they followed up with a victory in Australia.

"The guys have shown they are hungry to do well," said Smith. "After coming off two big series away it would have been very easy for us to idle along in these two matches but we haven't done that.

"The bowlers have bowled with good pace, good aggression and good intensity and the batters have got runs."

Man of the match Steyn took three for 48 for match figures of eight for 65 while Morkel took two for 36 as New Zealand were bowled out for 211 on Monday. They needed only a combined 34 deliveries to take the last five wickets.

Dean Brownlie and BJ Watling put on 98 for the fifth wicket before Brownlie was caught behind off Jacques Kallis for 53 in the tenth over of the day.

The new ball was taken three overs later and the rest of the batsmen folded quickly, with an early finish becoming inevitable when Watling was bowled by Steyn for 63.

Smith said he was particularly pleased that Steyn and Morkel had excellent back-up, with Vernon Philander starring in the first Test, while Rory Kleinveldt took key wickets when Philander was ruled out of the second Test with a hamstring injury.

"The thing now is that it is relentless," said Smith. "People can back each other up. It's not just one bowler and the batsmen being able to play through that and things ease up. We have guys who can keep coming all day."

McCullum agreed with Smith's assessment of the fast bowlers. "I've never been challenged as consistently as that by a group of bowlers," he said.

McCullum said New Zealand would have to learn from the experience of playing against the best team in the world. "They are at the top of their cycle of performance," he said. "They never let us into the game."

The teams meet in three one-day internationals, starting in Paarl on Saturday, but then both face new Test challenges next month. South Africa are at home to Pakistan in three Tests while New Zealand will be hosting England.

McCullum said he hoped Ross Taylor would be back after the former captain withdrew from the South Africa tour. He said Dean Brownlie and BJ Watling had shown their ability as batsmen in South Africa, adding that seeing off the new ball would be crucial against a good England bowling attack.

"Pakistan will be a potentially tough series," said Smith. "They have an exciting bowling unit and some experienced batsmen."

Featured Video Of The Day

CWG 2026 Weightlifting Gold Medallist, Mirabai Chanu Get Hero's Welcome in Delhi

Topics mentioned in this article

Cricket Dale Steyn Brendon McCullum Graeme Smith Morne Morkel Bradley Watling New Zealand Cricket Team Dean Brownlie South Africa Cricket Team

Get the Latest Cricket, Asian Games 2026, Football , Hockey, Badminton Scores, F1 Results at NDTV Sports. Like Us On Facebook Or Follow Us On Twitter For More Sports Updates. You Can Also Download The NDTV Cricket App For Android Or iOS.

Advertisement

Listen to the latest songs, only on JioSaavn.com

Advertisement

ICC Rankings

Advertisement

Now Trending

Advertisement

Trending Links

Follow us on:

facebook

twitter

Cricket

Football

More Sports

Formula 1 Tennis Hockey Badminton Golf Nba Kabaddi Shooting Swimming Table Tennis

This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics © Copyright NDTV Convergence Limited 2026. All rights reserved.