Ahmedabad : South Africa defeated New Zealand by 7 wickets at Ahmedabad and recorded hat trick of wins.
With Marco Jansen spearheading the attack, South Africa held an in-form New Zealand to 175/7.
While the Kiwi openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert gave the team a brisk start, they lost early wickets to end powerplay at 58/3.
It looked like New Zealand were setting themselves up for a big score when Daryl Mitchell (32) and Mark Chapman (48) built a 74-run stand. But South African pace duo of Lungi Ngidi and Jansen struck again, dismissing the two dangermen to steer their team back on track. Jansen was the wrecker in chief, providing his team with crucial breakthroughs to claim 4/40.
In the chase, South Africa got off to the perfect start thanks to Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock.
Markram led the charge for the Proteas with a blistering 86* off just 44 deliveries, while de Kock chipped in with 20 off 14 before being dismissed by a superb delivery from Lockie Ferguson.
South Africa surged to 101/1 in just 7.1 overs with Markram holding fort at one end with the other batters – Ryan Rickelton (21 off 11), Dewald Brevis (21 off 17) and David Miller (24* off 17) chipping in with useful contributions.
The Markram-led unit now remain unbeaten in the tournament, and sit atop the Group D table.
Brief Scorecard –
1st Innings :
NZ : 175-7 (20)
2nd Innings :
SA : 178-3 (17.1)
Result : South Africa won by 7 wickets.
