South Africa and New Zealand squared off in the seventh World Cup warm-up match. On Monday, October 2, both teams competed at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. New Zealand entered the game fresh off of an outstanding victory over Pakistan. On the other hand, South Africa’s first warm-up match against Afghanistan was scheduled, but it was called off before a ball was bowled. The Black Caps chose to bat first after winning the toss in the match between New Zealand and South Africa. Devon Conway magnificent knock as the opener ignited the innings.
Devon Conway batted first and racked up 78 runs on 73 pitches.
The 32-year-old’s performance helped New Zealand put a significant total on the board by hitting 11 boundaries and one six.
He did appear to be on his way to a century, but he left the field after making 78 runs. In addition, Tom Latham scored 52 runs in 56 pitches, and Glenn Phillips added 43 more runs to the tally. A total of 321 runs were scored by New Zealand in the opening innings.
Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen’s genius were the highlights of South Africa’s performance. Ngidi, 27, bowled seven overs in the first innings, giving up 33 runs while also claiming three wickets. In his eight overs of bowling, Jansen claimed three wickets and allowed 45 runs to be scored.
It would be intriguing to see how the South African hitters do in Kerala, where they are attempting to chase down a target of 322 runs. The Black Caps will try to match their outstanding first innings performance with an equally impressive bowling effort.
If New Zealand is unable to make early inroads in the run chase against South Africa’s star-studded batting lineup, it could prove to be quite a difficult task for New Zealand.