Black Caps put the squeeze on as Proteas youngsters fall short at Harare Sports Club

The Blackcaps beat the Proteas by 21 runs in the second T20I of the ongoing Tri-Series at the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe on Wednesday.

Chasing 174 runs to win the match, the Proteas openers, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Reeza Hendricks, had a blistering start with the bat.

Pretorius (27) in particular had an impressive start to the chase, racing to 27 following six glorious strikes down the ground against Matt Henry and Jacob Duffy (3/20), who took the new ball for the Black Caps.

Henry (3/34) put a stop to the youngster's dominant start as he induced an edge off the left-handed batter's bat with gloveman Tim Seifert taking an easy catch behind the stumps to hand the Black Caps their first scalp of the match.

Looking to maintain the left-hand and right-hand combination in the middle, Rubin Hermann was promoted up the order, only for the batter to walk back to the pavilion an over later.

Conrad persisted with the combination as Senuran Muthusamy was sent in at No 4, ahead of Rassie van der Dussen and Dewald Brevis. That too did not amount to anything as Muthusamy only made seven as the Proteas lost wickets at regular intervals.

Brevis, who walked away with the Player of the Match award against Zimbabwe earlier in the week, picked up where he left off, smashing a series of big sixes as he transferred the pressure back on the Black Caps bowling attack.

George Linde offered a resistance towards the backend with a quickfire 30, but his demise ensured that the Black Caps were too good on the day, wrapping up the Proteas innings in 18.2 overs to win the match by 21 runs.

Earlier, the Proteas quicks carried their momentum from their impressive bowling display against Zimbabwe earlier in the week and established their dominance in the contest against the Black Caps batters, reducing Rob Walters' men to 43/2 in the first Powerplay.

Kwena Maphaka, having been drafted into the playing XI for Nandre Burger, led from the front, claiming two wickets inside the opening 10 overs as he accounted for Devon Conway (9) with a vicious bouncer and the experienced James Neesham for a duck.

Lungi Ngidi, Gerald Coetzee and Senuran Muthusamy chipped in with one wicket apiece as they helped the Proteas reduce the Black Caps to 70/5 after 9.3 overs of the contest.

From there on in, it was the Black Caps show as Tim Robinson (75 not out) and Bevon Jacobs (44 not out) combined for an unbeaten 103 runs to propel the Black Caps to a competitive 173/5.

Robinson and Jacobs smashed a total of six sixes and seven fours between them as they feasted on what was a poor bowling performance from the Proteas bowlers in the last 10 overs of the innings.

New Zealand: 173/5 (Robinson 75*, Jacobs 44*, Maphaka 2/38)

South Africa: 152 all out (Brevis 35, Linde 30, Duffy 3/20, Henry 3/34)

New Zealand won by 21 runs