Connor Esterhuizen struck a second straight half century as South Africa beat New Zealand by 33 runs in Christchurch to clinch the T20I series 3-2.

In the decider, South Africa posted 187/4 after being sent in to bat, their highest total of the series. Esterhuizen led the effort with a superb 75 off 33 balls, backing up the 50 he made in the fourth game and confirming his place as one of the breakout players of the tour for South Africa. Rubin Hermann added 39, and the pair shared a key second wicket stand that helped set the platform.

Esterhuizen dominated the New Zealand attack on both sides of the wicket but was especially strong through the leg side, where he cleared the ropes repeatedly, hitting six sixes in his innings. His knock ended only in the closing stages, after he had already taken the game away from the hosts. He finished the series with 200 runs, 100 more than the next-highest scorer, New Zealand’s Devon Conway (who was born in the same city as Esterhuizen – Johannesburg).

New Zealand’s chase never gathered serious momentum. Missing several first-choice batters, they were always behind the required rate and could not build the kind of partnerships needed to put South Africa under pressure. South African-born Bevon Jacobs top scored with 36, while a 52-run sixth-wicket stand with stand-in skipper Jimmy Neesham briefly hinted at a fightback.

South Africa’s bowlers quickly shut that down. Gerald Coetzee was outstanding again, returning 2 for 21 in four overs and maintaining the control he had shown throughout the series. Wiaan Mulder and Ottneil Baartman also picked up two wickets each as the visitors restricted New Zealand to 154 for 8.

The match was untidy in the field, with nine dropped catches across both teams, but South Africa were comfortably the sharper side where it mattered most. The result handed Shukri Conrad his first away T20I series win as coach and gave South Africa a second successive bilateral series victory.