Kane Williamson produced a masterclass of controlled batting to lead New Zealand to a tense four-wicket victory against South Africa at Edgbaston on Wednesday, realistically killing off the Proteas’ hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals.
The Black Caps’ skipper kept his cool at the end of a nerve-jangling match that went down to the last over with eight runs still required, hoisting Andile Phehlukwayo for a huge six over midwicket to bring up a majestic century.
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He sliced the next ball for four as New Zealand reached their target of 242 with thee balls to spare in a match reduced to 49 overs per side due to a wet outfield.
The close finish in Birmingham was just the tonic the World Cup needed after a string of one-sided results and rain-ruined fixtures sapped the tournament’s momentum.
The win puts unbeaten New Zealand top of the 10-team table in the round-robin phase of the competition in England and Wales while South Africa are languishing third from bottom after just one win in six matches.
{{/usCountry}}The win puts unbeaten New Zealand top of the 10-team table in the round-robin phase of the competition in England and Wales while South Africa are languishing third from bottom after just one win in six matches.
{{/usCountry}}New Zealand, unbeaten so far in the tournament, have 9 points from 5 matches, are followed by England (8 points in 5 matches), Australia (8 points in 5 matches) and India (7 points in 4 matches) in the team standings.
South Africa, on the other hand, are all but out of the competition. Even if they win their remaining three games, they will have 9 points, which doesn’t guarantee them a top four finish.
Here’s the updated points table of ICC World Cup 2019
There was no change in the highest run-scorers’ chart with Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan leading with 384 runs.
Pakistan left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir leads the wicket -takers’ list with 14 scalps to his name.
(With agency inputs)