NZ Vs RSA, ICC ODI World Cup 2023: South Africa Thrash New Zealand By 190 Runs, Move Closer To Semi-finals - As It Happened

South Africa displayed a clinical performance in Pune on Wednesday. First, batters dominated, and then bowlers owned the game from the start of the New Zealand innings. With a massive victory of 190 runs, South Africa's net run rate became the highest and displaced India from the top spot in the points table. Apart from their performance against the Netherlands, the Proteas have been brilliant in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. Quinton de Kock hit his fourth century of the campaign, while Rassie van der Dussen, who was declared player of the match for his 133 runs in 118 balls, completed his second century. Chasing the massive target, the Kiwis started well but the Proteas bowlers never let them gain the momentum. Pacer Marco Jansen was brilliant with his bowling and claimed three wickets. Keshav Maharaj was introduced late into the attack but the spinner still managed to claim a four-wicket haul and helped wrap up the Kiwi innings early. Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada also built pressure. This huge loss has badly impacted New Zealand's net run rate and also made their clash against Pakistan very important. South Africa will face unbeaten India on Sunday in Kolkata, while New Zealand will move to Chennai to face Pakistan on Saturday for their next match. Catch cricket scores and highlights of the NZ Vs RSA, ICC ODI World Cup match here (Scorecard | Points Table | Report) 

That's all from our side!

Player of the match - Rassie van der Dussen 133(118)

Brief score: NZ - 167/10 (35.3)

Glenn Phillips - 60(50),  Will Young - 33(37)  |  Keshav Maharaj: (9-0-46-4)

9:20 pm: New Zealand all out for 167
Glenn Phillips delayed the inevitable for some time. He displayed some fireworks in Pune. He took the chances and added 34 runs for the last wicket with injured Matt Henry on the other side. He also completed his fifty. He eventually fell on Gerald Coetzee's bowling and New Zealand innings also wrapped up for 167 runs. 

8:50 pm: NZ - 132/8; Overs 21-30 Highlights
New Zealand kept losing the wickets and South African bowlers never let the momentum slip out of their hands. Maharaj removed Mitchell Santner and claimed his second wicket. Tim Southee was sent up the order before James Neesham and he also got removed by Marco Jansen by LBW. Maharaj struck again and bowled Neesham for a duck. Proteas are dominating the match and Kiwi batters are fighting for their better run rate now. Glenn Phillips is the lone fighter that remains. With still 20 overs in the innings, only a miracle can save the Kiwis from here.

8:00 pm: NZ - 91/5; Overs 11-20 Highlights
Gerald Coetzee stuck with his first over. He got the wicket of Will Young caught behind. Kagiso Rabada bowled a maiden over against Tom Latham to create pressure. Pace bowlers continue to dominate in the game. Tom Latham got caught at covers off Rabada's bowling. Daryl Mitchell was dropped at first slip. Gerald Coetzee bowled the 17th over and conceded 15 runs from that. Keshav Maharaj impacted with his first over and removed Daryl Mitchell. Only 40 runs were scored in this phase and three wickets were lost by the Kiwi side. Proteas are in control of the game. 

7:15 pm: NZ - 51/2; Overs 1-10 Highlights
Marco Jansen continued his good form with the ball and his two early scalps have shifted the momentum to the Proteas camp. Devon Conway got caught out at second slip. Lungi Ngidi also created pressure on Will Young with a maiden over. Ngidi and Jansen bowled some economical overs to build the pressure which eventually resulted in the wicket of Conway. Will Young broke the shackles and scored some boundaries. Rachin Ravindra got caught out at fine leg. Marco Jansen's two early wickets have put the Kiwis under pressure and now Will Young is joined by Daryl Mitchell, who is in fine form in this World Cup. Rabada is also brought into the attack. 51 runs were made with the loss of two batters for New Zealand in the first powerplay.

6:30 pm: New Zealand start batting
Devon Conway and Will Young are on the ground to open the innings for New Zealand. And the ball is in Marco Jansen's hands. The first ball is edged and Kiwis got off the mark with a single. Will Young smashed a four to gain some confidence. 6 runs from the first over. Chase is on. 

Innings Break!
Another 300-plus total posted by the South African team while batting first. Asked to bat first, South Africa started slow and steady. Trent Boult removed Temba Bavuma early, but Rassie van der Dussen and Quinton de Kock added 200 runs for the 2nd wicket partnership. Their partnership set the tone for South African innings. Quinton de Kock 114(116) completed his 4th century of this World Cup. Rassie van der Dussen 133(118) also completed his second ton of this World Cup. David Miller hit a brisk fifty. Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram also added crucial runs. New Zealand bowlers had a bad day at the ground. Matt Henry could not finish his full spell and was taken off to the ground due to a hamstring issue. James Neesham had to bowl 5.3 overs and he proved to be expensive by giving 69 runs in those overs. New Zealand have not lost any match against South Africa in ICC events since 2003. And now, the Kiwis need to make 358 runs to win this match. With Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell in form, New Zealand would like to go easy for the target. The start would be crucial. 

Target set for New Zealand - 358 runs in 300 balls

Brief score: RSA - 357/4 (50)

Rassie van der Dussen - 133(118),  Quinton de Kock - 114(116)  |  Tim Southee: (10-0-77-2)

6:10 pm: RSA - 357/4; Overs 41-50 Highlights
South Africa accelerated the batting in the last powerplay. And it was the display of power play indeed from Proteas batters. Rassie took the aerial route and lost his wicket while going for a big shot. Miller took the charge and smashed his first fifty of this year's World Cup. He has been in remarkable form. Klaasen also hit a couple of boundaries. Aiden Markram played only one ball in his innings and he also hit a six on that to post a massive total of 357 runs on the board. New Zealand bowlers especially James Neesham had a very bad outing. He conceded 69 runs in 5.3 overs he bowled. This is the highest score set by South Africa against New Zealand. 

5:10 pm: RSA - 238/2; Overs 31-40 Highlights
Rassie van der Dussen and Quinton de Kock played brilliant innings to guide the Proteas innings towards the death overs. James Neesham puts down a tough return catch of Dussen. On the very same ball, de Kock survived a run-out scare. Rassie survived after Boult made the mess of a catch. De Kock completed his 4th ton of this World Cup with a six. Both batters also completed their 200-run partnership for the second time in this World Cup. Quinton de Kock lost his wicket on the very last ball of this phase with a soft dismissal in the point region. 83 runs were made with one wicket's loss.

4:20 pm: RSA - 155/1; Overs 21-30 Highlights
Rassie van der Dussen welcomed Rachin Ravindra with a six. De Kock completed his fifty in 62 balls. Rachin was proven costly in his first two overs. He conceded 17 runs. Henry walked off due to injury and James Neesham completed his over. Both batters are looking in touch and have added runs with simple orthodox technique. Rassie van der Dussen also completed his fifty in 61 balls. The partnership between the two batters also reached above 100 runs. Both batters have given a perfect start for the other hitters to come. Both are nearing their respective centuries. 61 runs from this phase without any wickets loss for South Africa.

3:30 pm: RSA - 96/1; Overs 11-20 Highlights
South Africa completes fifty in the 12th over. Mitchell Santner bowled in good areas and built pressure on KProteas batters. No freebies from him. Quinton de Kock broke the shackles and hit back-to-back boundaries on Tim Southee. The 50-run stand between the two batters was also completed. Both have played cricketing shots to gather runs and no risk have been taken from any one of them. Spinners have done a great job of keeping the batters under control. 51 runs were added for no wicket's loss. 

2:50 pm: RSA - 43/1; Overs 1-10 Highlights
Trent Boult and Matt Henry bowled tight lengths and kept the Proteas batters at bay. Temba Bavuma found his way and played some beautiful shots but was caught at first slip by Daryl Mitchell off Trent Boult's delivery. Quinton de Kock played the opposite of his style today and started slow. He got his first boundary on the 19th ball. Glenn Phillips dropped Quinton de Kock's tough chance at the backward point. Only 43 runs from the first powerplay with the loss of the captain's wicket.

2:05 pm: South Africa start batting
Trent Boult opened the bowling attack for New Zealand. Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma started the batting for South Africa. Not much swing for Boult from the first over. Two runs from the first over. South Africa are off the mark. 

1:32 pm: Toss Update

New Zealand have won the toss and have opted to field

Teams:

South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Temba Bavuma(c), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi

New Zealand (Playing XI): Devon Conway, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Latham(w/c), Glenn Phillips, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Matt Henry, Tim Southee, Trent Boult

1:32 pm: What captains said
Tom Latham: We're going bowling on a fairly excellent surface. Later on, there might be dew. Tim Southee replaces Lockie Ferguson in the lineup. Guys in the group are self-assured. It's going to be a tremendous game today because they've been playing excellent cricket.

Temba Bavuma: We were also hoping to bowl first. The pitch appears to be a little dry; it might slip on later under lights. Shamsi is replaced by Kagiso Rabada. We want to capitalise on the momentum. It wasn't our most clinical performance, but it was critical to grab those crucial moments to cross the line.

1:25 pm: Pitch Report
Square boundaries of 62m and 67m, with a straight boundary of 74m. It appears to be a fantastic wicket, nice and hard. There is some grass cover as well as some cracks. It may be a little two-paced at first then slow down as the game goes. Previously, there was some seam movement and carry in the second part. Teams can expect excellent speed and carry today, as there has been in past games, according to Ricky Ponting and Shaun Pollock.

1:00 pm: Weather Conditions

Expect another hot day with 33°c temperature in Pune. With another scorching day expected, the side winning the toss would rather bat first than the field.

12:55 pm: Head-to-Head

South Africa and New Zealand have faced each other 71 times in the 50-over format with the Proteas winning 41 of those with the Kiwis taking 25. Five games were no result.

12:45 pm: Preview
Hello and welcome to the New Zealand Vs South Africa, Match 32, ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Match Blog. Looking to bounce back from successive defeats against India and Australia, New Zealand take on a South African side whose outstanding performances have been only second to the hosts so far in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. South Africa are second in the league standings after six games, having won five and lost one. New Zealand are one place below the Proteas, with a record of four wins and two losses from six. Pune welcomes the two teams for match 32 of the tournament, with the pair aiming to take another massive step toward securing a semi-final berth. Expect a thriller today.  

Finalists of the two previous editions of the Cricket World Cup, New Zealand, kicked off their 2023 campaign with a victory against England in the first match of the competition. They subsequently recorded positive results versus the Netherlands, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan before succumbing to successive defeats against their championship rivals. Meanwhile, South Africa raced out of the blocks with a hundred-run triumph over Sri Lanka in their first game. Destructive with the bat, the Proteas beat Australia, lost, surprisingly to the Netherlands, and bounced back with successive wins against England, Bangladesh, and Pakistan - the last through a battling performance.

Squads:

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Andile Phehlukwayo, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen and Lizaad Williams.

New Zealand: Kane Williamson (c), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (vc & wk), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee and Will Young.