NZ Vs SA 2nd Test Match: South Africa had a chance to start fresh with the bat on day three. But that didn’t happen for the visitors as they managed only 235 runs in their second innings.
The Proteas batters didn’t make good use of the 31-run lead which they gained after New Zealand was bundled out for just 211 runs yesterday in their 1st innings of this second and the last red ball match of this series.
William O'Rourke bagged a five-fer for the home side. The Test debutant player picked up a four-wicket haul in the first innings as well. With O'Rourke, Glenn Philips picked up two scalps while Matt Henry, Rachin Ravindra and Neil Wagner also picked up one wicket each in the second innings.
South Africa needed to bat well to post a challenging score as a target in front of the in-form batsmen of New Zealand in their 2nd innings. Despite a lead of 31 runs, the visitors didn’t do a decent job with the bat in hand.
In the second innings as well, the Proteas lost wickets at regular and again two of their batters had a start to their innings and they didn’t convert them.
Skipper Neil Brand and Keegan Petersen were the culprits for the visitors. Brand scored 34 runs while Petersen scored 43 runs. But if they had converted those starts into a substantial score then South Africa would have been in a more commanding position in this Test match which is being played at Seddon Park in Hamilton.
The visitors reached the score of 235 runs mainly of a magnificent century from David Bedingham. The 29-year-old batter of the Proteas side held the innings together when his team needed it the most.
He smashed his first hundred of this red ball format career and he scored 110 runs with 12 boundaries and 2 sixes in this innings.
Bedingham is the third-highest run scorer of this two-match Test series and the highest scorer for the South African side. He is only batter from the Proteas nation to smash a ton in this Test series as well.
Kane Williamson had scored twin tons in the first Test and Rachin Ravindra had smashed a double ton as well in the opening match of this series. Both these batsmen are from the New Zealand side.
New Zealand lost an important wicket of Devon Conway before the end of the third day’s play. The opener, Cornway managed to score just 17 runs in the second innings and he bagged a golden duck in the first innings. The Blackcaps side still needs 227 runs to win this match and the series by a margin of two nil.
New Zealand will have to bat well to chase down the remaining total and they have two days for that with still nine wickets in hand. The Kiwis shouldn’t repeat the same mistake which they did in the 1st innings.
Williamson, who was the highest run scorer in the 1st innings, will be the batter to watch out for from the home side.
The visitors, South Africa, will have to take the 9 wickets and finish the game on the fourth day itself. If their bowlers pick Kane Williamson early tomorrow, then they would be a huge blow for the Blackcaps team during this run chase of 267 runs.
Dane Piedt who took a five-fer and the wicket of Conway, will be the key bowler from the Proteas Nation tomorrow.
