New Zealand vs South Africa Tests 2016-17: SA Win 1-0 — Maharaj 6/40 at Wellington, Williamson 176 at Hamilton, Elgar 140 at Dunedin, Nicholls Maiden Century, Wagner 12 Wickets
South Africa won the three-match Test series against New Zealand in March 2017 by 1-0. 1st Test University Oval Dunedin: Draw (SA 308 & 224/6; NZ 341; Elgar 140+89 Player of Match; Boult 4/64; Maharaj 2/57). 2nd Test Basin Reserve Wellington: SA won by 8 wickets (NZ 268 & 171; SA 359 & 83/2; Keshav Maharaj 6/40 in NZ's 2nd innings — career best and maiden five-for, Player of Match). 3rd Test Seddon Park Hamilton: Draw (SA 314 & 80/5; NZ 489; Williamson 176 Player of Match; Henry Nicholls maiden Test century; NZ 175-run 1st-innings lead but final day washed out). Neil Wagner led NZ's bowling with 12 series wickets; Maharaj led SA's with 15. Williamson totalled 309 series runs. AB de Villiers was unavailable for the entire series. Faf du Plessis captained South Africa; Kane Williamson captained New Zealand.
South Africa won the three-match Test series against New Zealand in March 2017 by 1-0. 1st Test University Oval, Dunedin (Mar 8-12): Draw — SA 308 & 224/6; NZ 341. Dean Elgar scored 140 in SA's 1st innings and 89 in SA's 2nd, winning Player of the Match. Trent Boult took 4/64 for NZ; Neil Wagner 3/88; Keshav Maharaj 2/57 for SA. The final day was abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain. 2nd Test Basin Reserve, Wellington (Mar 16-18): SA won by 8 wickets — NZ 268 & 171; SA 359 & 83/2. Maharaj took 6/40 in NZ's 2nd innings of 171 — his career best at the time and his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests, described as the second-best figures by a spinner at the Basin Reserve. SA earned a 91-run 1st-innings lead and bowled NZ out for 171, then knocked off 81 in well under 25 overs. Player of the Match: Keshav Maharaj. 3rd Test Seddon Park, Hamilton (Mar 25-29): Draw — SA 314 & 80/5; NZ 489. Kane Williamson scored 176, winning Player of the Match. Henry Nicholls scored his maiden Test century. NZ held a 175-run 1st-innings lead but the final day was washed out, denying NZ a series-levelling victory. Keshav Maharaj took 15 series wickets — the most of any bowler; Neil Wagner led NZ's bowling with 12. Williamson totalled 309 series runs. AB de Villiers was unavailable for the entire series (he stepped back from Test cricket for most of 2017). Faf du Plessis captained South Africa; Kane Williamson captained New Zealand.
Maharaj 6/40 at Wellington: Career-Best Five-For Wins the Series
Keshav Maharaj's 6/40 in New Zealand's 2nd innings of 171 at the Basin Reserve was the bowling performance that won South Africa the series. NZ, setting a lead of 91 after SA's 1st-innings total of 359, were bowled out for 171 in their 2nd innings — Maharaj's left-arm spin exploiting the worn Basin Reserve surface to devastating effect. His 6/40 was his career-best Test bowling figures at the time and his first five-wicket haul in Tests. With SA needing only 81 to win, they knocked them off in well under 25 overs for a comprehensive 8-wicket win. The 3-day win at Wellington handed SA an unassailable 1-0 series lead: even if NZ won the 3rd Test, the series was SA's. Maharaj's 15 series wickets made him the dominant bowler in a series in which spin accounted for far more wickets than seam on both sides.
Williamson 176 and Nicholls' Maiden Century: NZ's Hamilton Fightback
The 3rd Test at Seddon Park, Hamilton was NZ's best chance to level the series after losing at Wellington, and they produced the conditions for it. Kane Williamson's 176 was his finest innings of the series — the anchor of a NZ 1st innings total of 489 that gave them a 175-run lead over SA's 314. Henry Nicholls, still establishing himself in NZ's batting lineup at that point, scored his maiden Test century in the same innings — a milestone that confirmed the batting depth NZ had developed under Williamson's captaincy. SA were reduced to 80/5 in their 2nd innings, staring at a potential defeat that would level the series at 1-0 in each's favour, when the final day was completely washed out by rain. South Africa's 1-0 series win was preserved by the weather in Hamilton — Williamson's 176 was a Player of the Match contribution in a match that ultimately didn't matter for the series result.
Elgar 140 at Dunedin and Wagner's 12 Wickets: The Series' Bowling Context
Dean Elgar's 140 in SA's 1st innings at Dunedin — followed by 89 in SA's 2nd innings on a pitch that deteriorated after rain — gave him Player of the Match in a drawn Test and established his quality as an opener willing to graft on difficult surfaces. NZ's response of 341 (with Boult's 4/64 the pick of the bowling) gave them a 1st-innings lead they couldn't convert before the final day was abandoned. Neil Wagner's 12 series wickets — the most for NZ — confirmed him as the most consistent NZ bowler in conditions that offered bounce and carry. Boult's 4/64 in the 1st Test was his best return of the series. The seam-versus-spin contest within the series — Maharaj's 15 wickets against Wagner's 12 — was the key bowling competition, with both left-armers proving that their variation and accuracy suited conditions across very different venues.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the New Zealand vs South Africa Test series in 2016-17?
South Africa won 1-0. SA won the 2nd Test at Wellington by 8 wickets (Maharaj 6/40 in NZ's 2nd innings; SA's 1st-innings lead of 91). The 1st Test at Dunedin (Elgar 140+89 PoM) and 3rd Test at Hamilton (Williamson 176, Nicholls maiden century; NZ 175-run lead) were both drawn — the Hamilton final day washed out by rain. Maharaj took 15 series wickets; Wagner 12.
What did Keshav Maharaj take in the 2017 Test at Wellington?
Maharaj took 6/40 in New Zealand's 2nd innings of 171 at the Basin Reserve — his career best and maiden five-wicket haul in Tests. His figures were the second-best by a spinner at that ground. SA bowled NZ out for 171 then knocked off the 81-run target in under 25 overs, winning by 8 wickets and giving SA an unassailable 1-0 series lead.