South Africa vs. New Zealand: Winners and Losers from 1st T20
South Africa beat New Zealand by six wickets in Durban, South Africa in the first of two T20s on Friday night. Having won the toss and choosing to bowl first, South Africa restricted New Zealand to 151-8 in 20 overs, after a dodgy bowling start up front. Runs all round for South Africa ensured they made light work of the chase.
We've picked a few winners and losers from the match. Add yours in the comments.
Winner: Hashim Amla
1 of 8
Like so many other players on Friday night, Hashim Amla got out needlessly. Still, it is hard to believe that there was a time where Amla was not considered to be a T20 player. Amla’s experience and calmness at the top of the order has proved to be the perfect anchor for the South African innings time and time again.
Winner: Rilee Rossouw
2 of 8
Rilee Rossouw got out swinging, trying to get the game over and done with, but he is slowly becoming one of South Africa's more reliable batsmen. Rossouw hit 38 off 20, but perhaps the most impressive part is how quickly he gets himself in. Slowly but surely, Rossouw will surely be ahead of the likes of David Miller in the limited overs set-up. While Miller certainly is talented, he is often more miss than hit.
Loser: Eddie Leie
3 of 8
You have to feel for Eddie Leie. While he might be on the fringes of the South African team, missing out on a spot in the team is really unlucky. While Imran Tahir is likely to remain the incumbent spinner heading to the Word T20 (despite not being in the squad for this series), South Africa are searching for his No. 2 ahead of next year’s World T20. They already know what Aaron Phangiso can do, so giving Leie a chance would be a wise choice.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Loser: Martin Guptill
4 of 8
Martin Guptill was caught napping by Morne van Wyk and although his dismissal was touch and go, his error was schoolboy. Sliding his bat in late and lazily means he only has himself to blame.
Winner: Kane Williamson
5 of 8
Kane Williamson is in some excellent form at the moment. A very useful 42 off 21 helped New Zealand set a good foundation and although they couldn't build from that, Williamson seemed completely undeterred by the captaincy and any other external pressures.
Loser: New Zealand' Middle Order
6 of 8
New Zealand's scorecard for the middle order didn't make for good reading. While South Africa deserve some credit for pulling things, New Zealand completely lost the plot as soon as they lost their top order batsmen. They need to do better if they hope to be competitive.
Loser: South Africa’s Bowling Plans Up Front
7 of 8
South Africa might have won easily, but they looked completely clueless early on in their innings. Perhaps that was partly due to the fact that cricket isn’t usually played in Durban at this time of the year, but South Africa were really dubious up front.
Winners: Aaron Phangiso and David Wiese
8 of 8
Aaron Phangiso and David Weise helped South Africa pull back their dubious bowling up front by slowing things down and picking up two wickets apiece. Phangiso was particularly crafty and his efforts earned him a man of the match award.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
