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Scrapping New Zealand reach 253

25 overs South Africa 101 for 3 (de Villiers 41*, Duminy 30*) need another 153 runs v New Zealand 253 for 9 (B McCullum 56, Williamson 55)

Three early wickets forced South Africa to rebuild in pursuit of New Zealand's 253 for 9, as AB de Villiers and JP Duminy took their side to 101 for 3 after 25 overs. The early wickets and the New Zealand attack's parsimony ensured only five boundaries and a six had been struck by the halfway stage, with Duminy, who was not out on 30, yet to find the fence. South Africa's innings almost mirrored New Zealand's, as the hosts were forced to recover from early losses, and were also at 101 at 25 overs, only with one more wicket in hand.

The New Zealand pacemen did not find the extravagant movement South Africa induced, but were precise in the early overs, using bounce and modest swing to exact three scalps. Hashim Amla fell prey to one that came in slightly off the seam from Southee in the fourth over, immediately after he had cracked his first boundary. Graeme Smith departed two balls later, flashing at and edging an angled delivery from Kyle Mills that was pouched by the keeper. Jacques Kallis seemed comfortable as he probed the gaps confidently for his 13, but was late on a pull shot off Doug Bracewell and managed only to surrender his wicket to square leg.

Tight lines and sharp fielding in the circle ensured South Africa scored at well below the required-rate, as de Villiers and Duminy opted for chanceless accumulation as they rebuilt from the early blows. Nathan McCullum was introduced in the 13th over and was miserly through the bowling Powerplay. Rob Nicol also came into the attack once the movement gave out for the seamers, conceding a six to de Villiers in his first over. That stroke though, was the exception to South Africa's approach, as the pair continued in no apparent hurry.

New Zealand 253 for 9 (B McCullum 56, Williamson 55) v South Africa

	Kane Williamson survived a gruelling inquisition from Dale Steyn on his way to a half-century

A fearsome pace-bowling inquisition at the top of the innings, and a canny performance at the death helped South Africa restrict New Zealand to 253 for 9 from 50 overs. Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn tested the hosts with blistering pace, and were unlucky not to have more wickets, even if the New Zealand top order cleverly tempered their attacking instincts, choosing to leave and defend instead of attempting a dynamite start. They then rebuilt through half-centuries to Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson through the middle overs, before South Africa surged again, ensuring New Zealand could not find the sort of finish they had become accustomed to against Zimbabwe.

The South Africa bowlers shared the wickets around, with Tsotsobe, Morkel, Jacques Kallis and Robin Peterson all taking two wickets, while Steyn, who had perhaps bowled the most threatening spells, could get only one. They bowled well in bursts, never allowing New Zealand to dominate, and almost all had a part to play during the final overs, in which wickets tumbled.

New Zealand's top order were grilled by a fierce opening spell, as South Africa found movement and bounce that Brendon McCullum did not expect when he chose to bat. Tsotsobe and Morkel's searing start reined in the hosts' typically explosive openers, who were loath to play at the moving ball, and were rarely able to find timing when they did. They stumbled to 13 from five overs, with most of those runs coming in extras. Dale Steyn's hooping outswingers added yet more venom to an already vicious start, as he introduced movement through the air to the pace bowling concoction. It was not long before Tsotsobe was rewarded at the other end, having Guptill caught behind for 7 - the batsman's first out-and-out failure of the home summer.

McCullum had his first DRS reprieve off the first delivery he faced, when the ball was shown to be sneaking over the stumps after he had shouldered arms to Tsotsobe's indipper, but the pace onslaught did not relent for the hosts. McCullum and Nicol could do little more than scamper singles through the remainder of the mandatory Powerplay, as South Africa's lines and lengths were often demanding, and at times, unplayable.

Kane Williamson survived a gruelling inquisition from Dale Steyn, following Nicol's dismissal in the 16th over, before he and McCullum shuffled up the scoring-rate as the spinners came on in tandem. McCullum had two more favourable brushes with DRS, both against Robin Peterson, but capitalised on those breaks by launching a salvo as the pitch flattened out. Having ambled to 18 from 37 balls, he sparked his offensive with a six off JP Duminy, before powering Tsotsobe over midwicket a few overs later. Two more boundaries square on the offside brought him his 21st one-day fifty, before he holed out to a diving Peterson on the point fence.

Williamson worked his way to his own half-century - his prowess against spin allowing him to maintain a comfortable tempo, as his team-mates strained to keep the score ticking at the other end. He ensured New Zealand emerged from the batting Powerplay unscathed in James Franklin's company, even if their return of 32 would hardly trouble the opposition.

At 191 for four from 40 overs, with firepower to come, New Zealand were well placed to push for a total in excess of 270, but more impressive bowling and regular wickets crippled those ambitions.

Tsotsobe removed Williamson with an angled delivery that caught the edge, and though Franklin had scored smartly through the Powerplay, he could not find the power to propel New Zealand in the death overs.

AB de Villiers used Kallis, Duminy, Peterson and Morkel in short bursts in the final overs, to force the New Zealand batsmen to constantly readjust, and the ploy worked brilliantly. Overs 40 to 49 conceded only two boundaries, but yielded four wickets. The hosts were made to rely on sharp running to progress at an acceptable rate, and it was only a six to Nathan McCullum and a four to Tim Southee in the last Morkel over that resulted in them limping over 250.