Captain Amelia Kerr bashed an unbeaten 179 to carry New Zealand over the line.
Amelia Kerr plays a shot for New Zealand as Proteas wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta looks on during the second women’s ODI in Wellington. Picture: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
New Zealand hit back in another thrilling encounter on Wednesday, beating South Africa by two wickets to level the series at 1-1 in the second women’s one-day international (ODI) in Wellington.
After winning the series opener in a match that went down to the last ball a few days earlier, the Proteas were narrowly edged in a high-scoring game, with the hosts securing victory with two balls to spare.
Batting first after losing the toss, the SA side racked up 346/6 – the national squad’s third highest total in the ODI format.
Top-order batters Laura Wolvaardt (69 off 74) and Anneke Bosch (91 off 90) laid a solid foundation, sharing 132 runs for the second wicket.
Down the order, Suné Luus (40 off 43), Sinalo Jafta (37 off 29) and Chloe Tryon (52 not out off 25) all made valuable contributions.
Bree Illing was the best of the White Ferns bowlers, taking 3/60, and fellow seamer Kayley Knight grabbed 2/65, but the New Zealand attack struggled to contain the Proteas batters.
New Zealand innings
Set a hefty target, however, the home side were superb, with captain Amelia Kerr bashing a massive century to carry her team over the line.
Kerr made an unbeaten 179 off 139 – her fifth ODI ton – and hit three boundaries off the last four balls she faced, guiding the New Zealanders to 350/8 in the last over of their innings.
The Proteas bowlers worked hard to pin back the hosts. Seamer Ayabonga Khaka took 3/51, and she was backed by Kayla Reyneke (2/54) and Masabata Klaas (2/61), but Kerr’s match-winning knock proved to be the difference in the end.
A ‘tough’ defeat
“It was tough to lose that game. I was very happy with our score with the bat… it was a really good team performance. I think a lot of people chipped in,” said Proteas captain Wolvaardt.
“Then in the second half we didn’t really have answers for Amelia Kerr. She batted brilliantly. She sort of had answers to everything we threw at her and she really hurt us in the end and played a brilliant innings to win the game.”
The third and final match in the ODI series between SA and New Zealand will be played in Wellington on Saturday.
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