Though they were ultimately unable to put up a fight, batting coach Ashwell Prince admitted the Proteas took a knock on Tuesday when captain Keshav Maharaj let things slip at the death in the first innings during their 68-run defeat to New Zealand in the second T20 International in Hamilton.
After the second-string national side earned a seven-wicket victory in the series opener, the batting line-up crumbled in the second game, and they were never really in the hunt in their run chase.
However, while the SA team would have been reasonably satisfied with their bowling effort after sending the Black Caps in to bat, Maharaj gave away 24 runs in the final over of the home side’s innings, giving the New Zealanders a boost as they reached 175/6.
Placed under significant pressure on a challenging wicket, South Africa were restricted to 31/2 in the powerplay, and they were eventually bowled out for 107 runs in the 16th over of their innings as the Black Caps attack tightened the screws.
“They (New Zealand) played really well in that last over, which gave their innings a real strong finish, taking them up to 175, which was always going to be hard to get on that surface,” Prince said.
Maharaj backed by Conrad
While multiple other bowlers could have delivered the final over of New Zealand’s innings, Prince said head coach Shukri Conrad had wanted spinner Maharaj – the most experienced player in the second-string national squad – to take the ball.
Maharaj had bowled the second super over against Afghanistan last month, helping the Proteas win under pressure in a thrilling group stage match at the T20 World Cup which had gone down to the wire.
“We had quite a few options there. Wiaan Mulder (who took 2/14 from two overs) bowled really well today and we also had Dian Forrester in the bank. He hadn’t bowled,” Prince said.
“Obviously Keshav has bowled some big overs for us of late – he bowled for us in the super over at the World Cup – and I think the coach had his back and was quite keen for him to bowl the last over.”
The third fixture of the five-match T20 International series between SA and New Zealand will be played in Auckland on Friday.
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