With two days remaining, New Zealand must score 227 runs to win the
series.
South Africa 242 and 235 (Bedingham 110, Petersen 43, O'Rourke 5-34, Philips
2-50) lead New Zealand 211 and 40 for 1 (Latham 21*, Conway 17, Piedt 1-3) by
227 runs.
On day three of the second Test in Hamilton, Will O'Rourke's five-wicket haul
on his Test debut enabled New Zealand to storm back into the match following
David Bedingham's elegant century. In the last session, South Africa went from
202 for 4 to 6 wickets for 33 runs, leaving New Zealand with a target of 267.
At stumps, New Zealand was 40 for 1, having lost Devon
Conway to Dane Piedt's ball, which proved to be the final one of the day. As
the match enters its fourth day, both sides are evenly poised with New Zealand
needing 227 runs and South Africa needing nine wickets.
Should New Zealand succeed in chasing this, it will surpass Australia's 2000
210-run target and become the most successful chase at Seddon Park.
Early in the day, New Zealand made a good impression, falling two wickets to O'Rourke during his morning spell and one to Rachin Ravindra. Neil Brand lingered for a short while before being dismissed for a sixty-ball 34 in South Africa's 39 for 3. Zubayr Hamza and Bedingham then gave South Africa the much-needed impetus. As South Africa scored 30 runs off of Ravindra's three overs before lunch, Bedingham in particular took aim at his subpar deliveries. After lunch, when Matt Henry and O'Rourke were causing the ball to nip around a fair bit, the two, who had begun the morning playing aggressively, changed to playing cautiously.
It was unexpected that Tim Southee, playing his first Test
in nearly a year, needed 36 overs to give the ball to Neil Wagner. The 65-run
partnership was ended by Wagner in just five balls when an impatient Hamza
holed out to deep square-leg off a short delivery. But once more, South Africa
took command after that, as Bedingham and Keegan Petersen managed to forge a
solid alliance.
Even though Bedingham has only played in four Test matches, his approach and
thought process seemed very clear; this may be due to his nearly ninety
years of first-class cricket experience. When called upon, he played with
aggression and scored quickly. He played nearly a perfect innings, hitting 12
fours and two sixes in his 141-ball stay.
On the other hand, Petersen cruised through the middle
session, good against pace and spin. They put on 98 runs for the fifth wicket
in unison, putting South Africa ahead for tea.
However, Henry set off a collapse just when it appeared that South Africa would
put the game beyond New Zealand, with Glenn Phillips' incredible catch at gully
sending Petersen back for 43 setting the tone.
Shortly after, Ruan de Swardt exposed his stumps while attempting
a sweep, and Phillips, with his off-spin, cleaned up. However, O'Rourke once
again provided the crucial wicket, dismissing Bedingham for 110, with Phillips
playing a part once more in the plot. Bedingham cut a back-of-a-length
delivery, but Phillips was waiting at the gully for precisely that opportunity.
Within an hour of the final session, New Zealand had completely destroyed South
Africa thanks to the additional bounce on offer and O'Rourke's speed and
accuracy.
With an overall match total of 9 for 93, O'Rourke became the first bowler from
New Zealand to record the best bowling figures on his Test debut.
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