South Africa vs New Zealand |
Ryder held the fort in the middle as he scored a patient 70-ball half-century, which included six boundaries, to keep Kiwis on track for putting up a challenging total against South Africa.
Ryder and Taylor added important 50 runs for the third wicket after losing both the openers early on.
South Africa started off well as they removed both the New Zealand openers inside ten overs.
Robin Peterson opened the account for Proteas as he took a brilliant catch of his own bowling to dismiss Brendon McCullum, whose inconsistency with the bat continued in this important clash.
New Zealand lost its second wicket in the form of Martin Guptill, when he failed to read the slower one from Dale Steyn and scooped to Johan Botha in mid-off.
Earlier, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori won the all important toss and decided to bat first.
Vettori returned to the side after missing the last two matches due to a knee injury.
South Africa continued with the strategy of playing three spinners in Johan Botha, Robin Peterson and Imran Tahir, besides two fast bowlers in Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel.
The winner will meet either Sri Lanka or England in the semifinal in Colombo on March 29.
Pitch and weather
There is little amount of grass on the track, but still it would play on the slow, low side and aid spinners. The weather would be hot and humid, and dew could come into play if evening is cloudless.
Teams:
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum,Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson, Luke Woodcock.
South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir.
Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Rod Tucker (AUS)
TV umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)
Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (SRI)
Sources: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com