In the first Twenty20 International in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand defeated South Africa by 80 runs thanks to half-centuries and a huge 146-run partnership between Georgia Plimmer and Amelia Kerr.

Plimmer’s 63 kept the scoring rate high through the middle overs, while Kerr smashed 78, her fourth straight fifty-plus score. A formidable total of 190 for 7 was built on their stand, which was the fourth-highest for any New Zealand wicket in women’s T20Is.

New Zealand’s bowlers performed brilliantly after the hitters set the stage. Sophie Devine swept through the rest of the lineup, taking four wickets, while Jess Kerr broke the South African top order with two early strikes. New Zealand now leads the five-match series 1-0 after the victory.

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Plimmer, Amelia Kerr, and the enormous stand

New Zealand controlled conditions for the following fourteen overs after losing Izzy Gaze to a run-out without encountering a ball. Amelia Kerr set the tone early with a sharp cover drive for four, coming off scores of 101 not out and 82 against Zimbabwe. With 11 fours and two sixes, she finished with 78, with 56 of her runs coming from boundaries.

Amelia Kerr used inventiveness and excellent timing to regularly infiltrate the offside field, lowering to one knee to clear midwicket and fine leg and skilfully scooping over the keeper. Kayla Reyneke continued to take advantage of anything short or overpitched, and her no-ball in the fourth over, which went for 19 runs, proved costly as Kerr smashed the free hit over long-on.

After missing the Zimbabwe ODIs due to a shoulder issue, Plimmer took some time to settle in and reached 37 off her first 32 deliveries. After she hit Nonkululeko Mlaba for six at the midway point and then two more off Chloe Tryon in the thirteenth over, the momentum changed.

Plimmer and Amelia Kerr easily took advantage of the fact that most South African bowlers, with the exception of Masabata Klaas, had trouble finding their lengths on a flat track. In the first nine overs, captain Laura Wolvaardt employed up to eight bowlers, but only Klaas’s deft variations regularly caused problems for the hitters. Chloe Tryon, Reyneke, and Nonkululeko Mlaba, who frequently missed their lines and bowled outside off, gave up 74 runs in six overs for just one wicket.

After the early damage from Plimmer and Amelia Kerr, South Africa successfully retaliated in the closing stages to hold New Zealand below 200, taking the final six wickets for 44 runs. After giving up just four runs in her opening two overs, Klaas came back in the fourteenth to dismiss Kerr with a disguised legcutter. She finished as the best bowler with stats of 4-0-15-2 after striking again in her following over with another slower ball to eliminate Brooke Halliday.

South Africa was never truly involved in the pursuit. They only scored 19 runs on the powerplay after losing both of their openers, Sune Luus and Laura Wolvaardt, to Jess Kerr in the fourth over. After the pitch expanded against a disciplined New Zealand attack, the scoring rate struggled even more. Tazmin Brits spent 35 balls at the crease, but the visitors either overhit or mistimed their deliveries, resulting in just 29 runs.

Any prospects of a chase were essentially dashed when South Africa imploded in the middle overs, losing five wickets for 57 runs. The bowling also showed the difference. ESPNcricinfo reports that although New Zealand bowled just 21 identical balls for 24 runs, South Africa bowled 35 back-of-a-length deliveries and gave up 55 runs. When the pitch slowed, New Zealand also used slower balls and yorkers to take wickets, demonstrating a greater awareness of the available circumstances.

Devine was the hero with the ball, making vital breakthroughs and executing her pace-off deliveries flawlessly. She started off with a beautiful three-run over, removed Tryon came back in the 19th over to take two more wickets after keeping the British quiet in the 12th over before being dismissed in the 15th. In her T20I career, her numbers of 4 for 12 were the best.

After recuperating from a quadriceps injury, Suzie Bates made her first appearance in the New Zealand starting lineup since October. In the first Twenty20 International, New Zealand sent out Halliday, Maddy Green, and Izzy Sharp, denying Bates a chance despite her declaration that she would bat further down the order.

But in the second over, Bates was given the ball. She let up six runs after starting with a wide, came back in the fourteenth over, and finished with figures of 0 for 17. Although this is just the beginning, as New Zealand investigates Bates as a crucial bowling option, we may see more of her with the ball than the bat in the run-up to the T20 World Cup in June.