The Proteas completed an epic comeback and beat New Zealand by 198 runs in the second and final Test match in Christchurch on Monday.
The victory secured a historic record against the Black Caps, one of the world’s toughest opponents in cricket. The Proteas needed six wickets to win the match, after suffering their worst Test defeat during the opening meeting, also in Christchurch.
The Proteas bounced back in a surprising move at Hagley Oval, thrashing the home side 227 in their second innings just after tea on day five.
A solid partnership between Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada worked through the tail to give the Proteas a crucial wicket for victory. Spinner Keshav Maharaj sealed the win by trapping Matt Henry lbw (leg before wicket) for a duck.
Rabada, the man of the moment, said it was important for his team to step up after being thrashed in the opener. “It’s never easy playing against New Zealand. We knew what we had to do and I’m glad that we could get the job done,” said Rabada.
“In the first Test, we completely didn’t rock up, we knew we had to win this one, at least to make it 1-1.”
The dark cloud enveloped New Zealand as the Black Caps were left disappointed and thwarted for their failure to hold on to their win in the first Test.
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