SA vs NZ | Matt Henry’s final over heroics shock South Africa in T20I tri-series final

Unlike the Kiwis, the South African duo of Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Reeza Hendricks had a cautious approach in the powerplay, with a few play and misses, scoring 46 without losing a wicket. However, they made up for their slow start as Pretorius began to attack the bowlers while Hendricks steadied the innings at the other end. Though the left-handed wicketkeeper-batter was eventually stumped off the bowling of Bracewell for a well-made 51 off 35 deliveries, the Proteas were still in a great position with the score at 92/1 after 10 overs. Though New Zealand did not have the best of starts with the ball, they decided to fight back in the next five overs and kept the game alive. This period saw the boys in black concede only 39 runs and get important wickets of Hendricks and the South African skipper. The Proteas suddenly found themselves in a tricky position at 131/3 needing 50 runs from the last five overs with two new batters at the crease. There might have been a bit of worry in the South African camp as Hermann was dismissed on the first ball of the 16th over by Jacob Duffy, but a partnership of 43 between Dewald Brevis and George Linde kept South Africa in the game. The game looked done and dusted as Brevis scored 15 runs off Duffy in the 19th over, bringing the equation down to just seven runs off the last six deliveries. However, there was some more magic to be created in the game as Matt Henry came to bowl the final over of the game. The pacer dismissed Brevis off the second delivery with some help from Bracewell, who took a sharp catch on the boundary line. While the next two deliveries produced three runs, Linde was dismissed the following ball as he fell victim to a stunning grab by Daryl Mithell at long on. In the end, it was four runs required off the final delivery with Muthusamy on strike, and Henry bowled a slower delivery into the deck. The left-arm spinner missed it completely, and the Kiwis emerged victorious by three runs to win the Zimbabwe Tri-Series title.

Matt Henry was awarded the Player of the Match for his final over heroics, which helped his team win the game right from the jaws of defeat. He was also the Player of the Series after finishing as the highest wicket-taker with 10 wickets from four games.