NZ Vs SA: The second Test match between New Zealand and South Africa is currently being played at Seddon Park in Hamilton. The home side won the first Test match by a mammoth margin of 281 runs at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui and they also lead this red ball series by a margin of one nil.
New Zealand has again gained an upper hand in the 2nd Test match as well because South Africa has lacked another collective effort with the bat in hand. The bowlers of the Blackcaps side have done a wonderful job on day one of the second red ball match.
The Proteas won the toss today and they opted to bat first in the second Test match. But their batting failure continue to haunt them as the visitors have lost six wickets on the first day itself and they have managed to post 220 runs on the board.
Many batsmen of South Africa had got starts to their innings. However none of them could convert it into the three figure mark. Apart from the South Africa wicketkeeper batter Clyde Fortuin and Keegan Petersen, all the other players like Neil Brand, Raynard van Tonder, Zubayr Hamza, and David Bedingham got starts.
But these batters didn’t score even a half century in the 1st innings which is why South Africa is reeling at a position of 220 runs for the loss of 6 wickets.
Rachin Ravindra was the pick of the bowlers from the New Zealand side. He picked up 3 wickets to his name. Neil Wagner, Will O'Rourke and Matt Henry were the other bowlers of this Blackcaps side who also picked up one wicket each in this match. Tim Southee went wicketless on the opening day of this 2nd red ball match.
South Africa didn’t have a good start after they won the toss earlier in the day and they also lost wickets at regular intervals. The visitors did not even have any significant partnerships as well which could have consolidated the position for them.
It was Ruan de Swardt, who is unbeaten on 55 runs which save the day somewhat for the Proteas side. Ruan was the top performer of the day for South Africa and he is also the top scorer of the 1st innings so far for his country.
The Proteas were place at 150 runs for the loss of six wickets when Ruan and Shaun von Berg shared an unbeaten partnership of 70 runs and this stand came when their side needed the most on the first day of this Test match.
Otherwise the Kiwis would have run away with the game. The bowlers of the home side, New Zealand bowled with good lines and tight length. In the second session, the South African batters, Zubayr Hamza and David Bedingham played five maiden overs on the trot. This tells us how well the Blackcaps bowlers bowled on the opening day of this second red ball match.
New Zealand will look to pick up the remaining four wickets quickly and then bat long to drive South Africa away from this match to seal the series by a margin of 2-0. The home side is leading this two match red ball series by a margin of 1-0 currently.
However the Proteas will depend on Ruan and Shaun to add as many runs they can on the second day's play. Ruan should also look to get to the three figure mark tomorrow that can help the visitors to fightback hard and stay in this Test match.
