South Africa vs New Zealand, 25th match at Birmingham, , Jun 19 2019 - Ball by Ball Commentary

That's all we have for you from an eeeeeepic game. Thanks for your company and on behalf of Karthik and Thilak, this is Deiva Muthu saying good night and go party

More from Kane Williamson: To be honest, when we went out there this morning, I thought the wicket was soft. And naturally they didn't have the best weather to harden up. So bowling was what both teams are looking to do. We knew we had to adapt quickly. It usually is when it hardens up. Try and read it as you go. Someone as de Grandhomme bowls beautifully in Test cricket when you hit the area and out here that area was the most important thing. The slower bowlers felt they were the hardest to get away and that's what we were looking to do. [on batting with de Grandhomme] You have a quiet chat. Hey, play your natural game and he's done it a number of times. He's your X-factor player and what an occastion to do it. On that wicket. It wasn't easy to play a knock like that. Trying to get across the line, we've played on a variety of surfaces. You look at the other side of the country and they score 350 but that's not been us. But yeah, it's not looking too far ahead and trying to achieve things aren't necessary. But we know there are a number of tough games coming up

Faf du Plessis says: We were aiming 260. I thought that was par on this wicket. The chat in the team room was to aim at 260 and 270. So we fell short. So good bowling from New Zealand and not getting boundaries away by us played a part. Individual batters will look at having an opportunity at facing a bowler that the fancy. Kane showed that. He also found it difficult to score but he waited for the guy he could hit. We also had a lot of stop start stop start innings but Kane batted through for the hundred and that was the game changer. We did everything we could. We threw ourselves a round. The energy was unbelievable. Sure, there was sometimes that we dropped intensity. But Kane took it away from us. [On missing DRS to get Williamson out] Was that lbw out? I don't know. Which one is that. I don't know. Oooh the nick. Oh well. There was no real appeal. No real lets have a look at it. So yeah, ask him [Imran Tahir] That's all we can do. The performances haven't been there. Individually we should have put on performances that could have driven the team home. But now we have to just try out best to compete again"

Kane Williamson is the Man of the Match: Yeah, it was nice to be there at the end. We knew from the first half that it was a tough surface - it was pretty soft and the ball was holding up in the surface. We managed to build the pressure by bowling in the right areas. We then had to build partnerships, but we kept losing unfortunate wickets that made life difficult. De Grandhomme stood out for me with the ball and then providing impetus with the bat. Trying to get through the tough parts - it was about communicating with the partners and feeding off them. Neesham and de Grandhomme both scored at a reasonable clip, so it was about taking the game deep. I was trying trying to do the job and fortunate I could do that. Today was a close one - could have gone either way - but nice to get the win in the end

Trying to get through the tough parts. You know you'll face dot balls out there because it was basically standing up in the surface. So we just had to build partnerships. Neesham and de Grandhomme (60 off 47) scored a bit quicker at the other end so I could just sit in at my end.

Trying to do the job as well as you can and I was fortunate to have been able to do it today. There was a number of other contributions that was vital. One of those surfaces that provides close game and a spectacle.

Kalpit: "Cool, Calm and Composed Kane Williamson ! World cup innings of saviour, an innings to remember for history !! Century from the Black Caps Captain: Kane Williamson !!"

Munwar: "I have in my memory a bearded man in black hitting a six in the last over of the match to eliminate SA from World Cup 2015. Again the same scene is repeated by Kane to eliminate SA from World Cup 2019. #Magic Moment Repeated. What a classy innings from the nicest guy of Cricket #ClassyKane"

Sid: "Any takers for best match of the tournament so far? Or does England v Pakistan edge this one?"

Vinoth: "There is no mathematical, physical, chemical calculation for the last 6teams to qualify for semi finals and this much soon we know the semifinalists"

Kunal Pandya: ""SA vs NZ matches are becoming legendary especially in World Cup like SA vs Aus.""

8pm Nerves, pressure, tricky pitch, try telling that to the ice-cool Kane Williamson. Martin Guptill was out in unlikely fashion - he was out hit wicket - and Ross Taylor was snaffled down leg. But, Williamson hung on and refused to budge. Let's not forget the crucial contribution from Colin de Grandhomme. And let's not forget all those errors from South Africa in the field. The slower balls and cross-seamers gripped in the surface, de Grandhomme holed out but Williamson rose above everything and ushered NZ home.

New Zealand need 8 off the last over. Can they have the times of their lives once again? Andile will bowl the final over. Faf has a lengthy discussion with him. Okay, guess what the ZING BAILS have stopped play. Scenes at Edgbaston. Sid Monga from the venue: "They are taking the bail from the non-strikers' end to the striker's end. I am not sure the zing is working on the bails now"

Long-on, long-off, two men in the deep on the leg side, sweeper cover in the deep. No short third man or deep third man

WATCH - Williamson survives again as South Africa blow a run-out chance (Australia, UK and SEA only)

Here comes Mitchell Santner. He is so cool and laidback that he has been nicknamed "Flatline" at Northern Districts. A slip greets him. Mid-off sent back

Lakshman Kumar: "The ball seems to be following Miller everywhere he goes..! The only way they can get a Wicket is to make Miller stand right behind the wickets..! "

Amit Agrawal : "This has been a very strange and disappointing campaign for the South Africans , the players never looked confident enough right from the first game . Really an underwhelming display by a top team. Sad for fans ."