Considering the lack of experience in their batting, and the dearth of talent in their bowling, New Zealand were always going to struggle to get the better of South Africa. However, they did have a couple of factors going their way, which could have been resulted in them at least competing with the strong opponents. First, New Zealand were playing at home, and under such circumstances they are often competitive, irrespective of the opponents. Secondly, New Zealand do have a few high-class players, who can get the better of the best on their day. But, nothing of that sort worked for them in the first two ODIs against the Proteas.
New Zealand’s below-par performance in the second ODI was almost a mirror-image of their showing in the first one. Here, the Kiwis bowled first, and conceded a bit too many runs. And, with the bat, yet again only Luke Ronchi stood up and made an impact. In fact, for the second game running, New Zealand broke their record for the tenth-wicket partnership. And, both times, Ronchi featured in the stand. When your last wicket partnership actually turns out to be your best one, it tells a lot about how poorly your team has played. The same applies to the Kiwis here.
The most disappointing aspect of New Zealand’s showing on Friday was that yet again their seniors let them down. Trent Boult and Tim Soutee have troubled most Asian sides with their pace movement. But, South Africans are used to their kind of bowling, since the play more fiery bowlers back home. As a result, the two Ts couldn’t make much of an impact on the Proteas batsmen. The Kiwis would have hoped for Daniel Vettori to work some magic. But, the South Africans played his cautiously while going after the others.
The story was pretty similar in the batting department too. Skipper Brendon McCullum, of whom so much was expected, could not bring his A-game out in the middle. Opener Martin Guptill has been around the international circuit for years now. And, while he manages to score against weak bowling attacks, he has definitely failed too often against the South Africans and Australians. Guptill, however, is lucky that he doesn’t have much competition at the top. The absence of Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson was definitely hurting New Zealand. Still, for the second game in a row, Ronchi proved that all was not lost.
For a change, New Zealand’s fielding also let them down. They often don’t drop many catches. But, Hashim Amla was reprieved twice in the innings, and South Africa’s Test skipper made they pay for their costly mistakes. You don’t drop players like Amla, or else the results are disastrous. Amla’s ton perfectly set up the innings for the visitors. Although the Kiwis fought back well towards the end of the innings, they were always going to be tested by the bowlers. They were, and their batsmen came second once again.
--By A Cricket Analyst
