South Africa end the chase with a stroke that has brought them so many runs today, a work square on the leg side
New Zealand vs South Africa, 1st ODI at Wellington, Feb 25 2012 - Ball by Ball Commentary
RESULT
1st ODI (D/N), Wellington, February 25, 2012, South Africa tour of New Zealand
253/9
(45.2/50 ov, T:254) 254/4
South Africa won by 6 wickets (with 28 balls remaining)
New
SA
Full commentary
That is it from us for this game for the moment. Read Andrew Fernando's match report here. This is Abhishek Purohit signing off. Cheers
AB de Villiers is the Man of the Match. AB: "We did really well in the field to restrict them. They had a couple of partnerships, but we kept getting wickets, and that is where we won the game. It was a slowish kind of wicket, and it is important to build pressure on these kind of wickets. JP felt a bit of pressure early on, he did not hit it as well as he would have liked, but he played an important knock. Faf did extremely well. I thought I constructed my innings well which was difficult on this pitch and in these conditions."
Brendon McCullum: "We thought 250 was competitive, but we would have had to bowl exceptionally well. In hindsight, we needed someone to get a big hundred, like AB did for them. No regrets in batting first though. We were looking to take that batting Powerplay a bit early, but we kept losing wickets. You cannot allow world-class players to get into the game, and we allowed AB to do that."
They just did not have enough runs on the board, New Zealand, with the kind of batting line-up South Africa have. AB de Villiers was always in control and New Zealand could never stop the boundaries from coming when they needed to. Faf du Plessis will never forget what happened in Dhaka that evening in March 2011, but this innings will give him a lot of confidence, especially the way he finished the game with a burst of big strokes.
MrGarreth: "9 of AB's 13 100s have come since 2010 at an average of 77.75. Dont get much better than that!"
45.2
1
Williamson to du Plessis, 1 run
45.2
1w
Williamson to du Plessis, 1 wide
slants it too far across the batsman
45.1
•
Williamson to du Plessis, no run
he walks across and outside off stump looking to steer the quick and flat one but pushes it towards short third man
end of over 4512 runs
SA: 252/4CRR: 5.60 • RRR: 0.40
AB de Villiers106 (106b 3x4 4x6)
Faf du Plessis65 (47b 9x4 1x6)
Tim Southee 10-0-64-1
Doug Bracewell 10-1-61-1
44.6
•
Southee to de Villiers, no run
he tries to finish it by making room down the leg side and eyeing extra cover, but Southee gets it around the blockhole, and he mistimes the stroke
44.5
2
Southee to de Villiers, 2 runs
another low full toss on the pads taken for a couple through square leg, boundary saved with a slide
44.5
1w
Southee to de Villiers, 1 wide
slower bouncer gone completely wrong, down the leg side
44.4
•
Southee to de Villiers, no run
smashes the drive off the full delivery to extra cover
44.3
4
Southee to de Villiers, FOUR runs
South Africa almost through now, AB withdraws towards the leg side, Southee drops it short, AB has a flail, and collects four with a thick edge to the fine third man boundary
44.2
1
Southee to du Plessis, 1 run
hits a pitched up delivery towards mid on for one
44.1
4
Southee to du Plessis, FOUR runs
four more, New Zealand continue to pay for their leg-stump line, Southee goes full down the pads in search of the yorker, and a fine tickle is all that is needed
end of over 4416 runs
SA: 240/4CRR: 5.45 • RRR: 2.33
AB de Villiers100 (102b 2x4 4x6)
Faf du Plessis60 (45b 8x4 1x6)
Doug Bracewell 10-1-61-1
Tim Southee 9-0-52-1
43.6
•
Doug Bracewell to de Villiers, no run
driven stylishly straight to mid on
43.5
1
Doug Bracewell to du Plessis, 1 run
inside edge dribbles square on the leg side off a full delivery
43.4
4
Doug Bracewell to du Plessis, FOUR runs
it's all come apart for New Zealand, Faf rubs it in with a controlled pull to a short ball, takes his third boundary in three balls, this time through midwicket
43.3
4
Doug Bracewell to du Plessis, FOUR runs
he is not going to let a repeat of Dhaka happen, scurries down the pitch once again, this time he goes straight down the ground, another boundary
43.2
6
Doug Bracewell to du Plessis, SIX runs
now Faf goes to 50 in typical fashion, with a charge to the fast bowler, and clobbers the shortish ball over midwicket
43.1
1
Doug Bracewell to de Villiers, 1 run
captain AB gets to a superb century under pressure when his team needed it, with a work on the leg side, acknowledges the applause with a no-fuss nod and a raise of the bat
Dan: "On a pitch where everyone else seems to have struggled, this has been a magnificent innings from AB. This game is now looking as easy to close out as Wednesday's was for the Caps. Unusual dismissal, unusual dismissal, anything for an unusual dismissal!"
end of over 437 runs
SA: 224/4CRR: 5.20 • RRR: 4.28
Faf du Plessis45 (41b 6x4)
AB de Villiers99 (100b 2x4 4x6)
Tim Southee 9-0-52-1
Doug Bracewell 9-1-45-1
42.6
•
Southee to du Plessis, no run
Southee drops it short this time, into Faf with the angle, who finds nothing with his attempted hook
42.6
3w
Southee to du Plessis, 3 wide
he tried to follow the batsman who was making room down the leg side but ended up sending it futher wide of Faf, more extras, they have been held back long enough
42.5
1
Southee to de Villiers, 1 run
in the blockhole, but AB moves on to 99 with a nudge on the leg side
42.4
1lb
Southee to du Plessis, 1 leg bye
first extras of the innings as this delivery scoots towards the keeper off the pads
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