(Reuters) - South Africa captain AB de Villiers anchored his side to a six-wicket victory over New Zealand, whose bowling and fielding was far superior to a poor batting performance in the first game of their three match one-day series on Tuesday.
De Villiers (89 not out) combined with JP Duminy (58 not out) in an efficient 139-run partnership after a tight and varied New Zealand bowling attack had given the hosts the sniff of an unlikely victory when they reduced them to 97 for four in the 25th over at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.