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Robinson, Henry And Duffy Star As New Zealand Sink South Africa By 21 Runs

Jatin

New Zealand defeated South Africa by 21 runs [Source: @BLACKCAPS, @ZimCricketv/x.com]New Zealand defeated South Africa by 21 runs [Source: @BLACKCAPS, @ZimCricketv/x.com]

When the pressure was sky-high and the Harare crowd was buzzing, it was New Zealand who kept their cool and came out swinging. In the second match of the Zimbabwe T20 Tri-Series 2025, the Black Caps pulled out all the stops to hand South Africa a 21-run defeat on Wednesday.

Tim Robinson, Bevon Jacobs Steady The Ship After Early Hiccups

After being put into bat first, it didn’t begin all sunshine and rainbows for New Zealand. Tim Seifert got off to a brisk start but fell for 22 and Devon Conway followed him soon after. At 35/2 inside 4 overs, things looked a bit shaky. Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Hay and James Neesham also departed for single digits as Kiwis were reduced to 70/5 in 9.3 overs.

But then stepped in Tim Robinson, calm as ever and deadly when needed. The youngster soaked up the pressure and played the perfect anchor role, scoring an unbeaten 75 off 57 balls. He found a perfect partner in Bevon Jacobs, who brought the fireworks with his blistering 44 off 30.

The two stitched together a match-defining 103-run stand for the sixth wicket and lifted New Zealand to a competitive total of 173/5.

Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy Rip Through The Proteas Batting Lineup

Chasing 174 on a pitch that had started gripping a bit, South Africa needed a solid start. Lhuan-dre Pretorius gave them just that, hammering 27 off 17. But wickets kept falling at regular intervals and once Rassie van der Dussen was run out in the 9th over, things started going downhill as the Proteas were reduced to 62/5.

Matt Henry turned on beast mode, picking up 3 wickets, including the crucial scalp of Dewald Brevis who was going full tilt with 35 off 18. Jacob Duffy was lethal too, finishing with figures of 3/20, choking South Africa just when they needed a late push.

Despite a fighting 30 from George Linde and some cameos, South Africa folded for 152 in 18.2 overs. The scoreboard pressure along with some disciplined bowling, was just too much to handle for the Proteas.

With this win, New Zealand has snagged two crucial points and has sent out a strong message. South Africa, meanwhile, will need to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to tighten their bowling and stop the batting collapses.

The tri-series is still wide open and the next clash will see the Kiwis lock horns with hosts Zimbabwe on Friday. July 18 in Harare.