New Zealand delivered a strong all-round performance to beat South Africa by six wickets in the fourth T20I at Sky Stadium. With this win, the hosts also secured the five-match series 3-1 with one game still to play.
South Africa's batting
Batting first, South Africa put up 159/6 in their 20 overs. Their innings got a boost at the end from Annerie Dercksen, who played a quick, unbeaten knock of 55 off 32 balls. Earlier, Chloe Tryon gave a quick start, but her early dismissal slowed things down for a while.
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Sune Luus held the innings together with a steady 30, along with support from Laura Wolvaardt in the middle overs. However, New Zealand stay in command by picking wickets in regular intervals. Jess Kerr stood out with the ball, picking up three crucial wickets to put South Africa in a spot of bother.
In the final overs, Dercksen picked up the pace and scored runs freely. She built useful partnerships with Nadine de Klerk and Kayla Reyneke, helping South Africa finish their innings on a competitive total of 159.
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New Zealand's chase
Chasing 160, New Zealand lost an early wicket, but Georgia Plimmer played a positive knock of 29 to steady the innings. Skipper Amelia Kerr then took control, scoring at a good rate and keeping the chase on track.
A key moment came when Kerr and Sophie Devine put together a 46-run partnership, which brought New Zealand close to the target. Even after Kerr got out, Devine continued to play aggressively, hitting a quick 64 off just 34 balls and putting the team in a strong position.
South Africa tried to fight back, with Chloe Tryon picking up a couple of wickets to slow things down for a short while. But New Zealand stayed in control, and Maddy Green, along with Brooke Halliday, calmly finished the job with nine balls remaining.
For South Africa, Tryon was the pick of the bowlers while Dercksen impressed with both bat and ball in a losing cause.
Brief Scores
South Africa 159-6 in 20 overs (Annerie Dercksen 55*, Sune Luus 30; Jess Kerr 3-16, Amelia Kerr 1-32) lost to New Zealand 160-4 in 18.3 overs (Sophie Devine 64, Amelia Kerr 31; Chloe Tryon 2-13, Annerie Dercksen 1-20) by six wickets.