De Villiers became the fastest player to score 8,000 ODI runs
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
South Africa captain AB de Villiers led by example during the third and final ODI in Durban as he smashed a quickfire 64 to lead his side to a 62-run win.
De Villiers was well supported by opener Morne van Wyk, who scored 58, as the Proteas clinched the series 2-1.
However, New Zealand opener Tom Latham deserves a lot of respect for his valiant innings of 54.
De Villiers would have been pleased with his decision to bat first as South Africa got off to a great start with opener Hashim Amla making 44 and van Wyk scoring 58 off 100 balls, which included four boundaries and two sixes.
Van Wyk hit four boundaries and two sixes during his knock of 58
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
De Villiers took over from that point as he blitzed his way to 64 off just 48 balls, which included eight boundaries and a six.
Following de Villiers’ departure, Farhaan Behardien and David Miller chipped in with valuable knocks of 40 and 36 to lead the Proteas to 283/7 off their 50 overs.
Ben Wheeler was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Grant Elliott snapped up two and Adam Milne and Doug Bracewell chipped in with one wicket apiece.
Chasing 284 to win, Latham turned out to be the only New Zealand batsman to have a major impact with the bat as he made 54 off 74 balls, which included four boundaries and a six.
Latham made a gutsy 54
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
While many other batsmen, including skipper Kane Williamson, Colin Munro, George Worker and Elliott, got off to promising starts, they failed to convert it into bigger scores. As a result, New Zealand ended up falling well short of their target and subsequently missed out on clinching the series.
David Wiese was the most successful bowler with three wickets, while Kagiso Rabada and Imran Tahir took two wickets apiece and Dale Steyn and Kyle Abbott claimed one wicket each.
De Villiers was named Man of the Match, while Amla took home the Man of the Series award.