Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: New Zealand comfortably beat South Africa by eight wickets in the third T20, thanks to a calm and steady chase led by Tom Latham and Devon Conway. Chasing 137 on a tricky pitch, the pair built a strong opening stand, making sure they didn’t lose early wickets. Latham stayed unbeaten on 63, guiding his team home with plenty of balls to spare.
The pitch at Eden Park wasn’t easy to bat on, but New Zealand handled it smartly. Their bowlers did the early damage, reducing South Africa to 41-3 in the powerplay and 61-5 midway.Every bowler chipped in with wickets, while Lockie Ferguson kept things tight. Mitchell Santner also made an impact with the ball, helping break key partnerships.“It was a simple blueprint tonight. The pitch looked like it was doing a little bit early. It looked tricky and it was good the way the two boys (Conway and Latham) could soak that up. You go too hard and you lose a couple of wickets, which makes the chase a little bit challenging,” Santner explained.South Africa managed to bat their full 20 overs for the first time in the series, but never really took control. Some late hitting from Nqobani Mokoena helped them reach 136, but it wasn’t enough. New Zealand chased it down comfortably, taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, with the next match set to be played in Wellington.
