HAMILTON, Feb 19: A polished Quinton de Kock half century laid the foundation for South Africa�s four wicket win over New Zealand in a tense finish to a rain-shortened opening One-Day International in Hamilton on Sunday.
In a clash that went down to the wire, it was a man-of-the-match performance from de Kock on a wicket that took an exceptional amount of spin in New Zealand conditions.
The departure of de Kock for 69 sparked a middle order collapse as even the New Zealand quicks turned to bowling cutters on the responsive pitch before an AB de Villiers rescue mission saw his side home with a ball to spare.
�We never expected it to turn like that in Hamilton,� de Villiers said.
�From past experience this becomes a really good batting track in the evening but that was far from it.�
With the fixture reduced to 34 overs a side following heavy rain early in the day, New Zealand posted 207 for seven, boosted by a whirlwind 51 off 23 balls at the end by unbeaten pair Colin de Grandhomme and Tim Southee.
But any thoughts New Zealand had that they were in a strong performance were soon dashed by the way de Kock launched into South Africa�s reply.
�At the halfway stage we felt we were right in the game,� captain Kane Williamson said.
�We knew needing five and a half on that surface was going to be difficult and they got off to a very good start which made chasing down that total a lot easier.�
�South Africa showed their class with the bat, batted very well and their composure towards the end was very important on a tough surface�
South Africa went into the final over of their reply requiring 12 to win, and de Villiers ended the game with a four off the fifth ball of Tim Southee�s over.
With de Kock in sublime form, assisted by Hashim Amla, South Africa started their run chase strongly with an 88-run stand.
Williamson used five bowling changes in the first 15 overs in an attempt to break up the pair but only succeeded when he put himself, a part-time spinner, on and had Amla caught and bowled for 35.
Faf du Plessis (14) joined de Kock to get the score to 117 when the South African innings suffered a collapse with five wickets falling in the space of 39 runs.
Trent Boult had de Kock caught in a sharp piece of fielding by Ross Taylor at short midwicket and Tim Southee removed JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardein with consecutive deliveries.
Chris Morris survived the hat-trick ball and made 16 before his dismissal had South Africa at 156-6 with 44 balls remaining.
De Villiers with 37 off 34 balls and Andile Phehulkwayo (29 off 23) combined efforts to get the tourists home.
SCORECARD
New Zealand: D Brownlie c Behardien b Morris 31, T Latham lbw b Morris 0, K Williamson b Shamsi 59, R Taylor c&b Morris 1, N Broom c Behardien b Morris 2, J Neesham c de Kock b Rabada 29, M Santner c de Kock b Rabada 17, C de Grandhomme not out 34, T Southee not out 24. Extras: (b-1 w-9) 10. Total: (for 7 wickets, 34 overs) 207. Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-69, 3-72, 4-82, 5-108, 6-136, 7-156. Bowling: K Rabada 7-1-31-2, C Morris 7-0-62-4, A Phehlukwayo 5-0-28-0, I Tahir 7-0-42-0, T Shamsi 7-1-39-1, J Duminy 1-0-4-0.
South Africa (D/L target: 208 off 34): Q de Kock c Taylor b Boult 69, H Amla c&b Williamson 35, F du Plessis lbw b Sodhi 14, A de Villiers not out 37, J Duminy c&b Southee 1, F Behardien b Southee 0, C Morris c Boult b Santner 16, A Phehlukwayo not out 29. Extras: (b-2 lb-3 w-4) 9. Total: (for 6 wickets, 33.5 overs) 210. Fall of wickets: 1-88, 2-117, 3-125, 4-126, 5-126, 6-156. Bowling: M Santner 7-0-33-1, T Boult 7-0-45-1, T Southee 6.5-0-47-2, C de Grandhomme 4-0-27-0, I Sodhi 7-0-36-1, K Williamson 2-0-17-1. � Agencies