New Zealand v South Africa, 2nd ODI, Napier

Amla, Morne Morkel star as South Africa seal series

South Africa 231 for 4 (Amla 92) beat New Zealand 230 (Brendon McCullum 85, Morne Morkel 5-38) by six wickets

	Morne Morkel's maiden ODI five-wicket haul contributed to a New Zealand collapse © Getty Images

An alluring one-day innings, this time from another of South Africa's batting juggernauts, saw the visitors canter to a series win with a seven-wicket trouncing inside 39 overs in the second ODI in Napier. Hashim Amla's 92 took South Africa smoothly to within striking distance of the target, after a middle order collapse from the hosts had previously seen them toppled for a woefully inadequate 230, in 47.3 overs. Morne Morkel brushed aside the lower order and the tail, exploiting a hard pitch that supplemented his natural bounce to collect each of New Zealand's last five wickets, and South Africa were never at risk of fluffing an easy chase, with Amla at the rudder.

Less than 24 hours after Virat Kohli and India put on an exhibition in powerplay batting, New Zealand spat up a performance at the other end of the spectrum, that derailed their innings, and effectively surrendered the match. Having overcome a tougher early period, the hosts skated to 163 for 2 in the 32nd over before unraveling dramatically. Brainless aggression from New Zealand, and superb execution in the field from South Africa saw three wickets fall while the field was in, before two more quick strikes crushed any New Zealand hopes of a respectable total, and what South Africa proved was a dream batting surface.

Kane Williamson's dismissal began the slide, but he was more the victim of terrific work from South Africa than his own folly. With mid-on and mid-off up, he attempted to loft Tsotsobe straight, but was fooled by the lack of pace and ended up launching it high. He might have got away with it were it not for an outstanding backpedalling take from Jacques Kallis, who arched back and plucked the ball from two feet behind him as it hurtled down.

McCullum was next to go, having made another promising half-century, picking out the fielder on the fence for the second time in as many matches, after Lonwabo Tsotsobe had invited his aerial legside flick with a full ball on the pads. Jesse Ryder's series failed to improve, as he too perished offering a poor stroke, to an angled Dale Steyn delivery that caught the edge as it moved across him.

Morkel scythed through the New Zealand tail after Tsotsobe and Steyn had made the incision in the middle order. He was on a hat-trick twice, with only Tim Southee's defiant 27-ball 28, breaking up his string of wickets.

Amla's imperious uppercut in the third over ignited a ten-ball salvo that yielded six fours, and launched South Africa's chase into a breakneck pace that did not relent until his dismissal in the 32nd over. Jacques Kallis departed early, after opening in place of an injured Graeme Smith, but Amla progressed unfazed, lacing crisp boundaries square on the off side during the batting powerplay, to propel the scoring rate beyond six, where it stayed for the entirety of the innings.