New Zealand openers Rachin Ravindra and Will Young survived the initial burst by the South African pacers. However, Will Young perished in the eighth over with Lungi Ngidi providing South their first breakthrough in the innings.
New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat first at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Ravindra and Young adopted a measured approach that saw New Zealand see off the first few overs without any loss. The duo struck boundaries at regular intervals but the scoreboard only read 12/0 after the first three overs.
The Kiwi openers changed the gears from the fourth over onwards. The duo took on Ngidi and hammered him for two boundaries.
Marco Jansen, who was bowling from the other end, was also dealt with a similar treatment in the seventh over. Ravindra pierced the gaps consistently and accumulated three boundaries, taking the Proteas to 44/0 in six overs.
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Lungi Ngidi Provides Breakthrough to South Africa
Bowling the eighth over, Ngidi gave South Africa a major relief as he sent Young packing. The right-handed batter looked to continue the onslaught started by Ravindra but failed in his attempt. He mistimed a slower ball and holed out at the mid-off region.
After Ngidi’s dismissal, Kane Williamson walked out to bat. He and Ravindra batted through the rest of the powerplay cautiously without taking any risks. South Africa captain Temba Bavuma brought Kagiso Rabada to bowl the ninth over in which the speedster gave away only three runs.
Williamson nailed a drive off Ngidi to close the powerplay with a boundary. At the time of writing, New Zealand’s score reads 56/1 with Ravindra and Williamson batting unbeaten on 29 and five runs respectively.
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