Proteas humble Kiwis

SINGAPORE, AUG. 25. A classic all-round South African performance humbled New Zealand in the tri-nations cricket series here on Friday, as it won by eight wickets with 16 overs to spare to book a place in Sunday's final against Pakistan.

New Zealand was dismissed for a meagre 159, which South Africa picked up effortlessly in 34 overs with Gary Kirsten not out on 75.

``It was a great team effort,'' South African captain Shaun Pollock said. ``We can go into the final with confidence.''

The only New Zealand success was the toss, but Pollock took back the initiative in the opening over and never let go. The New Zealand experiment of promoting spinner Daniel Vettori to open failed on the third ball when Pollock had him caught behind by Jacques Kallis.

Every attempt by New Zealand to establish a partnership after that was soon cut off. Chris Cairns and captain Stephen Fleming put together 29 runs for the third wicket, but their effort to consolidate failed when Fleming was run out on a direct hit from Kirsten.

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Section  : Sport
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