Esterhuizen's 57 and all-star bowling show take South Africa to series-levelling win
South Africa appeared to have stopped below par when they put up 164, but their bowlers put on an inspired show against an under-strength New Zealand
South Africa appeared to have stopped below par when they put up 164, but their bowlers put on an inspired show against an under-strength New Zealand
Scorer: M Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Fidel Fernando
That's it from our coverage of this one, folks. Join us for more on Wednesday, when this series will now be decided.
Keshav Maharaj, SA captain: There was a lot of good energy and a little bit of hunger within the group, and we showed that. It is a young team that is finding its way in international cricket, but to see the response after three games is superb. I think the way the debutant (Subrayen) took two wickets was fantastic. There were dropped catches but there was no panic. There were no pre-planned ideas coming in and the guys just adapted.
James Neesham stand-in captain: "165 was about par or maybe slightly below par. It was a good deck without being too good for batting. We took some average options with the bat and now need to have some honest conversations about where things went wrong today."
Connor Esterhuizen is player of the match: I just kept it simple, and did by basics well behind the stumps. Enjoying keeping in New Zealand.
That's outstanding work from South Africa's spinners in particular. Debutant Subrayen was a revelation with his arm balls, and Maharaj leant on his experience to deliver a truly outstanding 14th over, which is when the match swung decisively in South Africa's favour. Between the pair of them they took four wickets for 35 runs off seven overs.
It wasn't just about spin, though. Coetzee's pace also troubled NZ on a fast pitch. He took 3 for 31 for those efforts, and could have had more had South Africa held their chances. But it didn't matter. SA just prevented NZ from every putting any partnerships together.
Earlier it had been Connor Esterhuizen's 57 off 36 that drove SA forward with the bat.
For NZ, Neesham had a forgettable day with both bat and ball in his first outing as captain (Latham is injured). And they must now lock up the final match on Wednesday, in Christchurch.
KA Jamieson c Baartman b Coetzee 13 (18m 9b 0x4 0x6) SR: 144.44
NZ need some big hits in this over to stay in it, you suspect. SA on the cusp of locking this down and making it 2-2.
Esterhuizen, who is on his maiden tour for South Africa, reflects on how he had doubts about a career in professional cricket a few years ago
South Africa appeared to have stopped below par when they put up 164, but their bowlers put on an inspired show against an under-strength New Zealand
Katene Clarke is on his international debut with many seniors rested for New Zealand; Prenelan Subrayen comes in to join Keshav Maharaj and George Linde in the spin attack for South Africa
Across the past two Super Smash seasons, Clarke has rattled up 616 runs in 15 innings at a strike rate of nearly 150
New Zealand have never beaten South Africa in a bilateral series of two or more T20Is