New Zealand came out all guns firing in the 1st Test Match at Christchurch. New Zealand who are the defending Champions of the inaugural ICC World Test Championship are now placed at 6th position with 28 points. South Africa on the other hand is placed at 4th position with 24 points. New Zealand handed South Africa a mammoth defeat of an innings and 276 runs. New Zealand have taken a lead of 1-0 lead in a short 2 Test Match Series.
New Zealand had opted to bowl first. On the 1st Day New Zealand’s pace bowlers dismantled Proteas batting line up for a mere 95 runs. South Africa got bundled out inside 50 overs. The wrecker-in-chief for Kiwis with the ball was the sensational Matt Henry. The speedster took 7 wickets in his 11 overs spell. From South Africa not a single batter crossed 30 runs mark. The swing bowling by New Zealand was at it’s best as South Africa were left shell-shocked.
In response to 95 runs New Zealand were cautious with the bat as they weren’t in a mood to throw the towel. At the end of Day 1 New Zealand got the lead and at the same time lost 3 wickets for 116 runs. Day 1 proved to be extremely bad for South Africa whereas New Zealand were in ascendancy. New Zealand were hoping for any lead around 300 runs.
On Day 2 New Zealand piled on the pain. Henry Nicholls scored a knock of 105 runs in 163 balls. The peculiarity of his innings was that he scored runs at a good strike rate.
At the back end of the innings the wicket-keeper batter Tom Blundell & the fast bowler Matt Henry annoyed South Africa’s pacers. The duo was involved in 96 runs partnership. Blundell would rue the fact that he missed out on a well deserving century. He scored 96 runs in 138 balls. Matt Henry was in an attacking mode as the batter scored 58 runs in 68 balls. South Africa’s pacers were taken to cleaners. The likes of Kagiso Rabada & Duanne Olivier got 5 wickets amongst themselves and at the same time were too much expensive.
New Zealand were bowled out for 482 runs. New Zealand got a lead of 387 runs. Black Caps got a short burst with the ball, before the end of Day 2. South Africa’s nemesis against swing bowling continued. South Africa lost 3 wickets for 34 runs in a very short span of 9 overs. South Africa had a mountain to climb. New Zealand were delighted as they required only 7 wickets to get over the finish line. New Zealand’s pacers were too hot to handle.
On Day 3 Kiwis wasted no time to wrap up the game, This time the experienced campaigner Tim Southee demolished South Africa’s batting line up. He took 5 wickets and his line & length was immaculate. South Africa were bowled out for a paltry 111 runs in 41.4 overs. South Africa would be flabbergasted none of the batters showed up a fight. The only positive point was that Temba Bavuma found some form. He in the 2nd innings scored 41 runs in 76 balls.
New Zealand’s pace quartet proved to be lethal one as they didn’t give an inch to South Africa. New Zealand would believe that they continue their good work in the 2nd Test Match. World Test Championship points are up for grabs which means no match can be taken for granted. New Zealand would be happy that now they got extra time to relax & prepare for 2nd Test Match.
South Africa would hope that they move on quickly from this shambolic performance. South Africa so far in World Test Championship have won 2 & lost 2 matches (*1 against India). South Africa need to regroup as one more such performance can literally bury team’s morale. Captain Dean Elgar would hope for a new beginning. In 2 Test Matches the visitors have less time yet South Africa can inflict a lot of damage.
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