After showing just how good they are with the bat, South Africa will look to put the series to bed when they take on New Zealand in the 2nd ODI in Mount Maunganui.
Skipper AB De Villiers was at his usual ridiculous best, while JP Duminy provided able support at the other end as South Africa eventually eased a six-wicket victory over the Kiwis in the 1st ODI on Tuesday.
Chasing 231, after New Zealand only got to that decent score thanks to a wonderful 99 from Luke Ronchi, South Africa were labouring a little bit, before De Villiers, calmness and class personified, and Duminy, equally good, guided his team to victory.
"The class of AB de Villiers and JP Duminy came through. They killed us softly. No matter how many different things we tried, they kept responding," said New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, who also admitted his batsmen just did not put enough runs on the board.
"There was a lack of craft from our batsmen and that can happen when you come out of playing in the nets versus game time. Let's hope that develops over the next little while because that is an area where we have been very strong over the last 12 months."
New Zealand, who sorely missed the experience of Ross Taylor, will have to do without Kane Williamson for the rest of the two ODIs as well, with the home team not ready to take a risk on the right-hander, who is recuperating from a wrist injury.
"Kane has been ruled out of the rest of the series," New Zealand coach Mike Hesson was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "Unfortunately, he needs further rehabilitation on his wrist. It is not the time of the year where we want to rush him.
"Kane had a ligament issue. There was a one-off incident where there was a small tear in there. It has been injected and it has recovered.
"It is pretty much fixed, just needs some rehabilitation. He batted the last couple of days without a huge amount of discomfort but [it is] not something we are going to rush back."
South Africa do not have too many such injury problems, but De Villiers did stress on the importance of his side improving from their last outing, particularly the bowlers, who he felt could have finished off the New Zealand innings a lot quicker in the first one-day international.
"We got ourselves into a really strong position to finish them off, which we didn't do," de Villiers said. "To get a team nine down in 35 overs, when you've got your best bowlers with the ball in hand -- I feel they will be disappointed and they will feel they have to finish that off more often than that."
The last thing New Zealand need is the likes of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel going into the 2nd ODI with a point or two to prove.
Where to Watch Live
The 2nd ODI Match is scheduled to begin at 10.30 am local time (3 am IST, 10.30 pm BST, 5.30 pm ET (both Thursday). There is no live coverage on TV in India. Australia viewers can catch the action on Fox Sports or their online option, while New Zealand viewers can watch the match Sky Sport 2 NZ, or via a live stream on Sky Go NZ.
Audience in South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa can watch the match live on SuperSport, while the match can also be watched via live streaming on SuperSport online.
Viewers in the UK can catch the action on Sky Sports 2, with the live streaming option on Sky Sports Online or Sky Go. Viewers in the US can catch the game on ESPN3 or Watch ESPN, while Middle East and North Africa audience can watch the match live on OSN Sports Cricket, with the option to live stream on OSN Play.
