Veteran batsman Ross Taylor struck a blistering century before bowlers came to the fore as New Zealand grabbed a narrow six-run win over South Africa in the second ODI of the five-match series at the Hagley Oval here on Wednesday.
After being asked to bat first, Taylor smashed eight boundaries in his 110-ball knock of 102 runs besides sharing a crucial partnership of 104 runs with skipper and first drop Kane Williamson (69).
Subsequently, Taylor also stitched an unbeaten stand of 123 runs with James Neesham, who remained not out at 71.
Opener Dean Brownlie also made significant 34 in his side's total score of 289-4.
In reply, New Zealand bowlers somehow managed to restrict the Proteas to 283-9, despite some decent performances by Quinton de Kock (57), AB de Villiers (45) and Dwaine Pretorius (50).
While Trent Boult bagged three wickets, Mitchell Santner added two wickets in his account.
Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi and Colin de Grandhomme all chipped in with a wicket each.
Taylor was declared 'man-of-the-match' for his magnificent century.
With the win, the series is now levelled at 1-1. The two sides will play the third ODI on February 25 at Wellington.
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