Persistent rain on the final day at Dunedin forced the opening Test between New Zealand-South Africa to end in a draw. The first four days of intriguing Test brought the match to the final showdown, where the visitors took a lead of 191. With four wickets in hand, Faf du Plessis would have thought of adding another fifty runs and make things interesting. Tough batting conditions and the Proteas bowlers would have made it difficult for the hosts to chase such a target.

South Africa reached 224/6 with opener Dean Elgar hitting 89 and skipper Faf du Plessis contributing an unbeaten 56. However, the day began with heavy rain delaying the start and after the scheduled lunch was taken, the umpires Kumar Dharamsena and Bruce Oxenford concluded there was no chance of any play possible due to damp conditions. South Africa’s opening batsman Dean Elgar, who scored 140 in the first innings and 89 in the second, was named the Man of the Match.

Both sides would be frustrated after losing a chance to go 1-0 up in the series. The series will now move to Hamilton where the two top class sides will once again clash on March 16. While the game was evenly poised on all four days, South Africa will hold a lead at Hamilton as New Zealand suffered two injury problems in this Test. They will be without their premier batsman Ross Taylor and left-arm fast bowler Trent Boult, who was absent from the field after tea on Day 4, picked up a niggle.

Brief Scores:

South Africa: 308 (Dean Elgar 140; Trent Boult 4/64) & 224/6 (Dean Elgar 89; Neil Wagner 2/57)

New Zealand: 341 (Kane Williamson 130; Keshav Maharaj 5/94)