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Hashim Amla celebrates the wicket of Doug Bracewell with teammates - Source: Photosport
Robin Peterson celebrates the wicket of Brendon McCullum - Source: Photosport -
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The Black Caps are struggling to digest their unlikely loss in the Twenty20 series decider at Eden Park last night.
After cruising through the first fifteen overs of their modest run chase, New Zealand fell apart scoring just 21 runs from the final five overs, blowing the chance of a rare series win against quality opposition.
Speaking after the match, captain Brendon McCullum was at a loss to explain what went wrong in the dying stages of the match.
"We need to digest it, but we were put under some pressure at the end, some that we put ourselves under, but we were put under pressure and we didn't respond well and that's disappointing," McCullum told reporters.
"We've talked a lot amongst the group about making sure that when we get ourselves in a situation to finish games off, we do it clinically and we do it with ruthlessness, so tonight was bitterly disappointing."
The result was even more disappointing for the big hitting Jesse Ryder who had the opportunity to seal the series on his comeback to international cricket.
Ryder had looked on stoppable as he made it into the 40s, but stalled on 49, soaking up seven balls trying to find the single to get him to his half century. Two runs and an over later a frustrated Ryder was gone trying to get inventive, sparking South Africa's fightback.
McCullum said Ryder had taken the loss hard, but refused to lay the blame on his shoulders.
"Jesse's absolutely distraught about not finishing the game off, it would have been a fairy-tale comeback for him to have done that.
"I thought he played magnificently throughout his innings, but those last 10 balls I know he's disappointed, but it's not just him because many of us had opportunities to finish that game off and none of us really grabbed it."
However McCullum was also quick to credit the opposition who strangled the Black Caps batsmen, with spinner Johan Botha bowling two of the final five overs for just five runs, while rookie paceman Marchant de Lange held is nerve in a tense final over to seal the win.
"They slowed it up and once they got a couple of breakthroughs they managed to exert the extra pressure by bringing the quicks back on, so it was pretty smart play from them, but we've got to be better than that and those five overs were probably the worst five overs we've had with the bat all summer."
Fortunately for the Black Caps they will have an opportunity to make amends with the one-day international series just around the corner.
McCullum said they will be looking to rediscover their ruthless streak in the longer forms of the game.
"When the pressure came on we were found wanting and we don't want to be known as a team that does that. It's a pivotal point in our progression as a New Zealand team right now, how we pick ourselves up and continue to go on and respond to this."
The first ODI is in Wellington on Saturday afternoon.
