New Zealand stand-in skipper Tom Latham expressed his disappointment after failing to clinch a victory in the two-match Test series against South Africa at home despite taking a 1-0 lead earlier.
The Blackcaps suffered a hammering 198-run defeat against the Proteas in the second encounter in Christchurch as the series ended 1-1.
"From 1-0 to here is quite disappointing on our front," the New Zealand skipper said. "We knew coming in that we had to front up again and we knew South Africa were going to bring their best. Unfortunately, we weren't able to stick with them for long enough [on day four] and get those breakthroughs.”
Latham admitted that the momentum kept shifting during the course of the match but the lower-order partnerships played a vital role in the visitors’ win.
"I think there were times throughout the Test match where momentum shifted from team to team. We were able to stay with South Africa for long periods but they managed to get their heads in front yesterday with lower-order partnerships,” he added.
Chasing 426 in the second innings, New Zealand were bundled out for 227. Devon Conway top-scored for the New Zealand side with 92 while Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj scalped three wickets each for South Africa.