Tom Latham carried his bat for 63 and put on 96 for the first wicket with Devon Conway to set up New Zealand’s eight-wicket win over South Africa in their third Twenty20 on Friday (March 20, 2026).

Conway made 39 and Latham reached his fourth T20 half-century, helping New Zealand’s cricketers pass South Africa’s 136-9 with 22 balls remaining to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Batting conditions have been tricky and matches in the series have been low-scoring. South Africa won the first by seven wickets, chasing down New Zealand’s 91, and the Black Caps won the second by 68 runs, bowling out the opposition for 107.

South Africa batted out 20 overs for the first time on Friday (March 20), helped by a lively unbeaten 26 from 20 balls by Nqobani Mokoena in his first international innings.

Latham and Conway began their run chase quietly, taking five runs from the first two overs and 12 from the first three. They then took 14 from the fourth over, bowled by Mokoena, and 21 from the fifth by Lutho Sipamla to set New Zealand on the way to a comfortable win.

Conway fell in the 11th over, caught in the deep by Rubin Hermann off Keshav Maharaj and Tim Robinson was out for 17 in the 17th over when the scores were tied. Nick Kelly came out and hit a single for the winning run from the next ball.

“You look at the depth we’ve got at the moment…with a few guys away,” said New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner, who won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat.

“It was a simple blueprint tonight. The pitch looked like it was doing a little bit early. It looked tricky and it was good the way the two boys (Conway and Latham) could soak that up. You go too hard and you lose a couple of wickets, which makes the chase a little bit challenging.” The pitch at Eden Park typically is quick and bouncy and it provided that again but also held up at times. New Zealand used six bowlers and all six took wickets, including the spinners who helped their team make inroads in the South Africa top order.

Pace bowler Lockie Ferguson took 1-9 from four overs.

Santner found turn and, after coming on in the fifth over, dismissed Jason Smith (10) and Connor Esterhuizen (15).

Smith tried to cut a ball and mistimed his shot when the ball turned back from outside off. Esterhuizen scored all his runs in the third over before trying to hit Santner to the short, straight boundary but finding Kelly at mid-on.

Earlier, South Africa was 41-3 at the end of the powerplay and 61-5 at the midpoint of its innings.

George Linde and Gerald Coetzee put on 34 for the seventh wicket with Linde scoring 23 from 19 balls and Coetzee 16 from eight deliveries.

When Coetzee was out, South Africa was 103-8 in the 15th over and in danger again of being bowled out inside 20 overs. But Mokoena put on an unbroken partnership of 24 with Lutho Sipamla for the 10th wicket, South Africa’s highest for that wicket in T20s.

The fourth match is in Wellington on Sunday (March 22, 2026).

Lockie Ferguson has put his latest setback — a calf injury — behind him and is eager to hit the ground running after joining the New Zealand squad in India for the remaining two T20Is.

“It was a challenging 2025, for sure. But I still want to get better and perform on the world stage. Being in the World Cup picture is nice. I still want to test myself against the best in the world. Rehab sucks, injuries suck. It’s been challenging for the fast bowlers, but we try to do the best we can,” he said.

The 34-year-old acknowledged that managing workload has become central to longevity.

“When I started playing, there were two or three days between matches. Now we’re a little bit more limited. Cricket’s in an interesting space. I feel privileged to be travelling the world to play something I love. I’ll keep trying to do the work and stay on the park as long as possible.”

New Zealand’s bowlers have a tough task on hand to operate against a marauding Indian side on batter-friendly pitches.

“Obviously, we’re doing our homework behind the scenes. But if you get an opportunity to change the game or you feel like you’re having a good day, then it’s important to double down on that. But look, it’s why we play the game. International cricket is not easy.”

He also offered a cheeky solution to tackle Abhishek Sharma, who has made the format his own.

“He’s obviously full of confidence and is playing some outstanding shots. It’s important to review, find areas where he’s a little bit weaker and try to bring an aggressive brand of cricket into what we’re playing. Sometimes it’s best to try to get him off strike, get him at the other end and bowl to the other batter.”