Martin Guptil scored a brilliant half-century to even the two match series with South Africa in Centurion on Sunday. The Black Caps won the toss and elected to bat first, posting a 177/7, they then limited the Proteas to 145/8 handing New Zealand a 32 run victory.
The partnership of Guptil and Kane Williamson got off to a flying start with 52 off just 33 balls before Kagiso Rabada got the captain out with a catch by Kyle Abbot. Guptil remained at the crease as Tom Latham fell for three, before old South African foe Grant Elliot added an impressive 34 in three overs before the end of the first half of the innings.
Guptil was finally dismissed before Colin Munro and James Neesham tried to pull New Zealand over the 200 run mark. However Rabada dismissed both consecutively to end a 20 run stand off eight balls.
The Proteas couldn’t maintain a consistent run rate and were losing wickets at crucial times. By the time the 20th run was scored, we were already down two wickets (Amla & Van Wyk). Captain AB De Villiers and Rilee Rossouw did their best to catch up, but the captain fell in quick succession. David Miller struck two boundaries and a six before giving McClenaghan his second wicket of the day.
Legspinner Ish Sodi picked up the scalps of David Wiese and Rossouw, condemning South Africa to defeat and evening up the series.
The teams will remain at Supersort Park for the commencement of an ODI series, beginning on The 19th of August.
Be sure to keep checking the BetXchange website under the cricket betting tab for a full list of odds and bets you can place before and during the game. It’s all set up to be a brilliant encounter the next time these two sides do battle.
