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Milne Fires, Santner Strangles And Seifert Wraps It Up as New Zealand Flatten South Africa

Jatin

New Zealand beat South Africa by 7 wickets [Source: @ZimCricketv/x.com]New Zealand beat South Africa by 7 wickets [Source: @ZimCricketv/x.com]

New Zealand flexed their muscles and thrashed South Africa by 7 wickets in Match 5 of the Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series 2025 at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday. With this win, the Black Caps didn’t just remain unbeaten, they sent a strong message that they are here to play fearless cricket.

Proteas Crumble Despite Hendricks’ Steady Knock

Put into bat, South Africa never really got going. Their top order looked shaky from the get-go with Rassie van der Dussen falling early to Adam Milne. Reeza Hendricks tried to steady the ship with a 41-run knock but there was little support from the other end.

Dewald Brevis and Rubin Hermann got starts but couldn’t convert. The middle order collapsed like a house of cards with wickets falling at regular intervals. Geoge Linde smashed 15-ball 23 at the end as South Africa managed to crawl to 134/8 in their 20 overs.

Mitchell Santner was the pick of the bowlers, spinning a web around the Proteas and finishing with tidy figures of 2/26. Milne and Duffy chipped in with two wickets apiece.

Seifert’s Fireworks Light Up Harare

Chasing 135, New Zealand came out with intent and it was Tim Seifert who lit the fire. The wicketkeeper-batter was in sublime touch as he smashed 66* off 48 balls with six boundaries and a couple of biggies. He anchored the chase perfectly while others played around him.

Conway gave them a brisk start before falling for 19. Rachin Ravindra and Mark Chapman didn’t last long, but it didn’t matter. Daryl Mitchell walked in and played a handy cameo of 20 not out off 15 balls to ensure the chase was done and dusted with 25 balls to spare.

South Africa’s bowlers looked flat. Coetzee leaked 37 in his three and even the usually reliable Linde couldn’t apply any brakes. Senuran Muthusamy was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa with 2/24 in his four overs.

This was a statement win by New Zealand, who will head into the final against the same opposition, having beaten them twice in the series. They will carry all the momentum and more importantly, the mental edge.

For South Africa, it’s back to the drawing board. They will need to come up with fresh plans and bring their A-game in the final because this Kiwi unit isn’t going to take the foot off the pedal anytime soon.