Right-arm pacer Lungi Ngidi surpassed Dale Steyn's T20I wickets tally with the crucial scalp of Tim Seifert in the second T20I between South Africa and New Zealand. The lanky pacer led the charge of Proteas' pace attack in the absence of Kagiso Rabada and provided his team an early breakthrough by dismissing Seifert for 22. Before the second match of the Tri-series, the RCB paceman was levelled with Steyn, and now he has become the third-highest wicket-taker for South Africa in T20Is after Tabraiz Shamsi and Kagiso Rabada.
Most wickets for South Africa in T20Is
Tabraiz Shamsi - 89 wickets
Kagiso Rabada - 71 wickets
Lungi Ngidi - 65 wickets
Dale Steyn - 64 wickets
Imran Tahir - 61 wickets
Earlier, South Africa won the toss and chose to field first. New Zealand lost both openers inside the powerplay, with Seifert departing for 22 off 16 balls, followed by Devon Conway. However, a solid half-century from Tim Robinson (75 off 57) and a brisk knock by Bevon Jacobs (44 off 30) guided the Kiwis to a competitive 173/5 in their 20 overs.
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Robinson reflected on New Zealand's total of 173, calling it a par score but admitting they might have left a few runs out there, especially with South Africa bowling well at the death. He acknowledged the pressure the Proteas applied, particularly when New Zealand was reeling at 70/5.
{{/usCountry}}Robinson reflected on New Zealand's total of 173, calling it a par score but admitting they might have left a few runs out there, especially with South Africa bowling well at the death. He acknowledged the pressure the Proteas applied, particularly when New Zealand was reeling at 70/5.
{{/usCountry}}"I think that's around par, we could have got a few more. The South Africans bowled really well at the death. We were struggling there for a bit (at 70/5), it wasn't fast-paced T20 cricket that we're used to," he added.
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He also praised debutant Bevon Jacobs for his powerful and composed knock under pressure, calling him a future star.
"Bev - he's a strong guy, really impressive debut from him and we talked about backing ourselves, he's going to be an unbelievable player. The South Africans put a lot of pressure, I was really struggling to start my innings but in T20 cricket you always got more time than you think. That's what I kept telling myself after every dot ball," he concluded.