NZ VS RSA - 2nd Test, South Africa tour of New Zealand, 2017

Twelve of the 20 NZ wickets fell to spin and the match got over in three days. And this is not even one of those sub-continent pitches where the opposition team accuses the home team of pitch doctoring. A track that assisted everyone - seamers, spinners and the batsmen. That's all we have from this encounter. The good thing is that the next game isn't a dead rubber and we can expect the Kiwis to comeback strongly. Do join us on March 25th for the third and the final Test. Until then, it's a goodbye from Abhinand Raghavendran, Vineet Anantharaman and Sreenivas. Enjoy your weekend!

Keshav Maharaj, Man of the Match: It's tough to keep the hands warm here. I'd always keep it in my pocket whenever possible so that I could grip the ball. With wind here, it helped my bowling as I got the ball to drift and that made the batsmen to play differently. It's a stepping stone for me and I'm still learning. Hopefully, I become an accomplished bowler. Every game is a new challenge and I'm looking forward to it.

Faf du Plessis: It looked gone for us in the first innings. We've been in similar situations over the last year and we find ways to put ourselves in winning situations. It (the pitch) wasn't great for spinners but Keshav was amazing. Every Test match, someone else puts their hand up for us. There is always room for improvement but whenever we find ourselves in trouble someone steps up. This match it was Temba. It was really cold, obviously fielding in the slips is never easy when it is this cold. Vernon is an amazing world class bowler. In this match he played the holding role. Kagiso as well was up with the pace and Morne with the bounce he gets is always hard to face.

Williamson: Very, very disappointing. They played positively and their last wicket partnership was the starting point for us of what was a terrible day. Against the number one side in the world, we have to keep them under pressure for as long as we can. The ball certainly did enough and that is exactly what the South African bowlers did. There was a lot of positives for us in the first innings like Nicholls with his century. We have to move on quick to bounce back. Hamilton will be different, we need to adjust and take the South Africans on. They've played really well and we need to step up. Colin de Grandhomme did really well for us with the ball. We have a lot more to offer. The guys will have a few days off. We haven't discussed the plans as yet but we'll meet in Hamilton and discuss

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At lunch on day two, NZ were all over their opponents restricting them to 104-6. But that's when the match-changing partnership between Quinton de Kock and Bavuma took place and there was no looking back for the Proteas. It was always going to be a tough task for the Kiwis to stage a comeback, but not impossible. They have themselves it blame. This was by no means a track to get bundled out for 171 in the second essay. Once again, it was spin, that troubled the home team here on a green Wellington track. On conditions that should be against his style of bowling, Keshav Maharaj now has two fifers in three innings here Down Under. He finished with career best figures of 6-40 from where NZ couldn't even dream of a comeback. Presentations in a while..

South Africa win the second Test in three days - thanks to today's extended half an hour. Brilliant effort from the visitors. It was just about how fast this innings will get over and not who will win. The lion-hearted bowler, Wagner, gave his all, but it was too much to ask from him. Stephen Cook's bad run with the bat continued, but Amla ensured that their team passed the winning line without hiccups.

Neesham to Duminy, FOUR, Duminy finishes it off in style. South Africa go 1-0 up in the 3-match series. Coming to the delivery, it was a non threatening short ball, Duminy swivels across and smacks the pull backward of square and the ball races away into the fence

Neesham to Duminy, 2 runs, shortish delivery on leg, Duminy moves across and pulls it in front of square on the leg-side. Just two needed

Neesham to Duminy, no run, down the leg-side. Duminy does nothing

Wagner to Amla, no run, bangs it in short outside off, Amla sways away from it

Wagner to Amla, no run, searing bouncer, Amla manages to duck under it at the right moment. That came in at good pace

Wagner to Amla, no run, continues delivering the bumpers, Amla ignores it

Wagner to Duminy, 1 run, Wagner is unhappy with the effort. It was banged in on leg. Duminy jumped and tapped it to leg-gully who put in a very ordinary effort and let it go through

Wagner to Duminy, no run, short ball, Duminy ducks under it

Wagner to Amla, 1 run, short of length delivery, Amla works it through mid-wicket

Neesham to Amla, 1 run, driven to covers and sets off for a quick single

Neesham to Amla, FOUR, seven needed now! Short and wide outside off, Amla slashes hard. The ball flies through the vacant backward point region and into the fence in a flash

Neesham to Amla, wide, too short and goes well over the head of Amla. Deemed as a wide

Neesham to Amla, no run, sharp bouncer, Amla evades it by ducking under it