Auckland, March 20 (IANS) A superb bowling show followed by Tom Latham’s unbeaten half-century powered New Zealand to a comfortable eight-wicket victory over South Africa in the third T20I played at Eden Park on Friday, helping the hosts take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

After winning the toss, New Zealand opted to bowl first and produced a disciplined effort to restrict South Africa to 136/9 in 20 overs. The hosts then chased down the total easily in just 16.2 overs.

South Africa were off to a poor start as they lost three crucial wickets in the powerplay, with Wiaan Mulder getting out on a duck while Tony de Zorzi and Connor Esterhuizen made starts but could not convert them into big scores.

After the top order failure, the middle order also could not steady the innings, with Rubin Hermann and Dian Forrester unable to make an impact.

Later, George Linde (23 off 19), Gerald Coetzee (16 off 8), and Nqobani Mokoena (26 off 20) added some useful runs, helping South Africa cross the 130-run mark, but the total remained below par.

New Zealand’s bowlers kept things tight throughout. Mitchell Santner and Ben Sears picked up two wickets each, while Ferguson stood out with an economical spell, conceding just nine runs in his four overs. Kyle Jamieson, James Neesham, and Cole McConchie also contributed to maintaining pressure.

In reply, New Zealand chased down the target comfortably. Devon Conway and Latham provided a steady start, with Conway scoring 39 off 26 balls, including four boundaries and two sixes.

After Conway’s dismissal, Latham anchored the innings with an unbeaten 63 off 55 balls, ensuring there were no setbacks in the chase. Tim Robinson added 17 runs, while Nick Kelly finished the match.

For South Africa, Lutho Sipamla and Keshav Maharaj picked up one wicket each, but the bowlers failed to trouble the New Zealand batters.

Brief Scores: South Africa 136/9 in 20 overs (Nqobani Mokoena 26, George Linde 17; Mitchell Santner 2-21, Ben Sears 2-27) lost to New Zealand 137/2 in 16.2 overs (Tom Latham 63*, Devon Conway 39; Lutho Sipamla 1-26, Keshav Maharaj 1-30) by 8 wickets.

–IANS

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