South Africa vs New Zealand 2017: 1st T20, 5 talking points
South Africa exorcised the demons at Eden Park in a dominating display in the one-off T20 against New Zealand. Put in to bat first, South Africa made 185 in their allotted overs courtesy a fine half-century by Hashim Amla and some late order cameos by AB de Villiers and JP Duminy.
New Zealand crumbled in the face of some penetrating bowling by Chris Morris and later Imran Tahir, who picked up a magnificent five-wicket haul to further his reputation in T20 cricket. The Kiwis were bowled out for a meagre score of 107 in the 15th over.
Tom Bruce offered some resistance with the bat for the Kiwis but Tahir ripped through his defence, and then played with the tail enders to wrap up the game for the Proteas.
Brief Scores: South Africa 185/6 in 20 overs (Amla 62, Boult 2/8) beat New Zealand 107 all out (Bruce 33, Tahir 5/24, Morris 2/10)
Take a look at some key moments from the South Africa - New Zealand T20 game.
#5 Trent Boult's opening burst
Trent Boult is among the best left-arm fast bowlers in world cricket today and at Eden Park, he showed just why in a spectacular opening burst of 2-0-2-1. Swerving the ball into the right-hander, Boult troubled Amla and Quinton de Kock in his first over with late swing.
He conceded just five runs off his first over with four of them coming from a leg bye. He started his second with a peach of a ball that eluded Amla's edge and went on to dismiss the dangerous de Kock, who pulled him to deep square leg. He later returned to concede just two runs in the 19th over and took the wicket of Farhaan Behardien.
With the IPL auctions just a few days away, Boult gave a good reminder of his ability with the new ball in hand. He was in demand last time around and this show with the new ball should increase his popularity before the all-important auction on 20th.