New Zealand vs South Africa, 2nd T20I, South Africa tour of New Zealand, 2026 - Commentary

New Zealand come storming back to make it 1-1. The third game of the series is on 20th of March. We will be there for that one. Do join us then. For now it's bye bye from all of us here.

Mitch Santner | New Zealand captain: "It was good. Yeah, I think it looked pretty tricky early up with the bat, so I think, you know, Dev's kind of partnership there, and Kelly and the boys gettting us to a decent score, and then we knew with the ball. It was kind of that blueprint that South Africa operated on, hard length and it played a couple of tricks, which was nice. (on his bowling in the powerplay vs outside) It's probably, more, yeah, like, into the wicket to start in the powerplay, but I think, you know, looking at the way kind of Kesh bowled and then when you slowed it up, there was actually a bit more there. So trying to use those, I guess, pace changes and was nice to see the ball spinning again. (on the chat at the halfway mark) Yeah, I think we, you know, we batted well for the first kind of three overs. You know, it looked like it was tricky and we kind of got through a little bit of a spell and then, you know, cashed in, which was nice. I think Dev, you know, gave himself some time, wasn't fluent at times, but then he cashed in and played a great knock. And then, you know, some contributions along the way, even Clarkie, you know, sending it at the end, which was nice to get us up to, you know, probably an above-par score. (on the crowd) Yeah, it's great to see, obviously, the crowd was outstanding. It's nice, obviously been away for a little bit in India and then come home to play a home series against a very good team. And see the crowd for the first two games has been outstanding. So hopefully it's the same in Auckland."

Keshav Maharaj | South African captain: "Yeah very much so, I thought we bowled really well up until a point. And then obviously, lost our way with the bat. If I'm honest, we thought the dew was going to play a large factor in terms of changing the wicket, but look, there was dew on the outfield, but the wicket got a little bit worse, so I'll take that on my chin. (what were the challenges in these conditions?) Yeah, very much so. I think we know dew is a factor back home, which gets the wicket better. But I think the way New Zealand bowled, gave us nothing up front and really stifled us, and forced us to make a play on a very tricky wicket. (on things to work on for the next game) Yeah, very much so. I think as a seam-bowling unit, the guys have done really well in the last two games, quite precise, came back nicely when they needed to, and then, you know, the little bit of salvaging from George at the back-end, hitting some spectacular shots. So there's still a lot of positives to come out from the game, but back to the drawing board come Saturday again. (on their supporters here) Yeah, it's been refreshing to see some of our local people back, yeah. It's always nice to have that support wherever we are in the world."

Devon Conway | Player of the Match: "Yeah, I think for me personally it's about trying to build a partnership, just lean on my partner, try and calm myself down. Because in T20 cricket, you're really trying to push it on. So yeah, try and just fall back on building a partnership and keeping it simple. (any thing you have worked on recently?) Not necessarily. I think, you know, Gerald Coetzee coming around the wicket with the new ball has been something that's pretty different for me to face. But you need to swing it from wide of the crease. But I think just for me, it's just trying to keep it simple and just adapt to what they're trying to do. (on the last few months) Yeah, it's been a pretty quiet couple of months for me. I think, you know, going over to India and not playing, not featuring in that World Cup, it's been a nice opportunity for me to have my feet up and watch the boys do their thing in the World Cup. But yeah, just getting the opportunity to play. It's been nice to contribute and be back with the boys and the group. (on playing with this South African team) Yeah, it's fun. I mean, I've played a lot with these guys growing up, so I know a lot of them. And yeah, I can't necessarily hear what they're saying out on the field, but if they were to speak Afrikaans, I'd certainly understand."

22:21 Local Time, 09:21 GMT, 14:51 IST: Good comeback by New Zealand after getting thrashed in the first game. This is a big win. The South African openers weren't allowed to get away in the powerplay and wickets kept falling regularly. New Zealand used the pitch well, slamming the ball hard into the wicket and once again Santner was outstanding. Only George Linde offered some fight with the bat, the others didn't make it count as the likes of Hermann and Mulder got a start but fell. All 10 wickets fell to catches as New Zealand hung on to some nice ones. The series is now level 1-1 as we head to the third game. Stay tuned for the post-match stuff...

Lockie Ferguson to George Linde, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Ottneil Baartman is back on his feet after the magic from the physio.

A wide slip.