NZ beat South Africa by 21 runs

Agencies,Harare, July 17: An unbeaten century stand between Tim Robinson and Bevon Jacobs set the Black Caps up for a 21-run win over South Africa in their first match in the Twenty20 tri-series that also features Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

Robinson finished not out on 75 off 57 – a new career-best score – and Jacobs made 44 off 30 on debut as they put together a partnership of 103 off 63 balls after coming together with their side 70-5 in the 10th over at the Harere Sports Ground.

With five overs to go, the pair had only scored 40 off 33 balls, but they added 63 off the last 30 deliveries they faced to lift the Black Caps to 173-5 – what Robinson figured to be a par total after they were sent in to bat by South Africa captain Rassie van der Dussen.

The Proteas then crashed to 62-5. Dewald Brevis – who made 35 off 18 – and George Linde – who made 30 off 20 – both tried to lift them out of that hole, but South Africa were bowled out for 152 in the penultimate over as New Zealand won by 21 runs in coach Rob Walter’s first match in charge.

Robinson was only involved after being called up to cover for the fact that five of his team-mates were unavailable after playing in the Major League Cricket final in Dallas in the United States on Sunday.

Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Adam Milne, Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra all sat the first match out, but are set to be available for the second of the Black Caps' four round-robin fixtures, against the hosts at the same venue on Friday (first ball 11pm NZ time).

Mitch Hay and Jimmy Neesham were the other two players added to the squad as cover for the absentees, but neither made an impact with the bat, falling for two and a duck respectively.

Tim Seifert made 22 off 16 at the top of the order while facing all but one of the first 17 deliveries, but was caught in the deep after being caught out by a Lungi Ngidi slower ball.

Devon Conway made nine off seven while Mitchell made five off five and was the first man to fall as the Black Caps went from 62-2 to 70-5 in the space of 12 balls.

Teenager Lhuan-dre Pretorius gave South Africa a strong start in reply, but after he was caught behind by Seifert for 27 off 17 off the bowling of Matt Henry, the Proteas quickly found themselves in a bigger hole than the Black Caps had been.

Jacob Duffy struck in his second over after being hit for two fours by Pretorius, while captain Mitchell Santner brought himself on inside the power play and bowled Reeza Hendricks for 16 off 12 with his second delivery.

Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi – playing his 200th international across all formats – then bowled Senuran Muthusamy for seven and when van der Dussen was then run-out for six – Santner hit the stumps after collecting an initial throw that went awry – South Africa were 62-5 in the ninth over.

Brevis had hit 41 off 17 as South Africa beat Zimbabwe in their first match and showed his intent by hitting Santner down the ground for six first ball.

At the halfway stage, the equation was 98 off 60 and Brevis was tilting it in his side’s favour when he hit 16 runs off the first five balls of Henry’s third over, including two more sixes.

Then came the sixth ball, which he sent down the throat of Daryl Mitchell at long-on – a catch that sent him on his way with 73 needed off 48.

Linde then became the threat, hitting Santner and Sodhi for sixes before picking out Conway in the deep off Duffy in the 18th over, with 26 needed off 14.

Duffy struck again with his next ball but couldn’t claim a hat-trick, finishing with 3-20, before Henry closed things out in the penultimate over, finishing with 3-34.