South Africa have always had the upper hand against New Zealand in the Test format. They maintained their illustrious record in the longer-version format in the just-completed two-match series against the Blackcaps. Despite having one of the least experienced teams in the world, South Africa were able to draw the series against one of New Zealand's finest Test teams. The Proteas Test team won the second Test in Christchurch by 198 runs on Tuesday (March 1), drawing the series 1-1. The updated ICC Test Championship points table and second match report are discussed in this article. The Second Test Report: New Zealand vs South Africa South Africa's overall Test record against New Zealand shows that they have won 25 matches, lost just 5, and 16 matches finished in a draw. New Zealand have never won a series against South Africa since the first Test between the two teams in 1932. On the other side, South Africa have won 13 Test series while four series have concluded in a stalemate. New Zealand's campaign had high hopes of winning the two-match longer version series against South Africa. Because the current New Zealand Test team is perhaps their best of all time, this South African Test team is inexperienced. New Zealand also served as the series' host country. The Blackcaps dominated the Proteas in the first match of the series. The only thing they needed was a draw in the second game, but the New Zealand team was unable to prevent South Africa from winning the series-deciding game.    Read BAN vs AFG 2022: Notable T20I records between Bangladesh vs Afghanistan South Africa’s First Innings South Africa's top scorer was opener Sarel Erwee in the first innings. Erwee and Elgar commenced the innings with a 111-run partnership, providing the visitors with a superb platform. The Proteas middle-order carried the innings from there for a competitive total. South Africa scored 364 runs in their first innings. Sarel Erwee produced 108 runs with the bat, while no other batters reached fifty in the innings. Elgar, Markram, Van der Dussen, and Maharaj all made good contributions with the bat. Neil Wagner grabbed the most wickets for New Zealand with four, while Matt Henry took three. New Zealand’s First Innings  In response, New Zealand were bowled out for 293 runs, leaving them 71 runs behind in their first innings. The visitors got off to a bad start, losing five wickets for 91 runs. Later, a 133-run sixth-wicket partnership between Daryl Mitchell and Colin de Grandhomme helped New Zealand avert a follow-on. Colin de Grandhomme stayed undefeated with 120* runs, while Daryl Mitchell added 60 runs. Read: BAN vs AFG Series 2022: Bangladesh Eye Clean Sweep against Afghanistan in Final ODI Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen were two of South Africa's most successful pacers in this innings. Rabada grabbed the most wickets with five, while Jansen took four. South Africa’s First Innings South Africa began their second innings with a good first-inning lead and declared on 354/9d. The Proteas' wicket-keeper batter, Kyle Verreynne smashed a 136-run innings for the visitors, giving them a big lead at the end of the third innings. South Africa set New Zealand a 426-run target to win the match in the second session of day 4. Southee, Henry, Jamieson, and Wagner all took two wickets for New Zealand in this innings. New Zealand’s Second Innings New Zealand were bowled out for 227 on day 5 after chasing a massive 426-run target. The rain on day 5 caused worry in the Proteas dressing room since it disrupted the game for a period of time. However, all worries vanished when Keshav Maharaj removed Matt Henry through Ibw to give South Africa the win. Read ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022: Full Fixtures, Dates, Venues Maharaj, Jansen, and Rabada all took three wickets for their respective teams in the fourth innings. On the other hand, Devon Conway scored 92 runs for the Blackcaps. The Player of the match went to Kagiso Rabada. He took the most wickets with eight and played a crucial 47-run innings in the match's third innings. Player of the Series  New Zealand's pacer Matt Henry was named player of the series for his outstanding bowling performance in the two-match series. Henry took 14 wickets at an average of 16.14. Current Points Table of the ICC Test Championship South Africa are still in fourth place despite winning the second match of the series against New Zealand. On the other hand, New Zealand are in sixth place, just ahead of Bangladesh. Read BAN vs AFG ODI Series 2022: Bangladesh Can Reach Sixth Position in ICC ODI Rankings Sri Lanka remained in first place, with a 100% PCT percentage. The Lankans may lose their current position in the next Sri Lanka-India Test series. Meanwhile, the forthcoming Test series between Australia and Pakistan will be fascinating, since both teams are now in second and third place, respectively. ICC Test Championship Points Table (as of March 1, 2022) Position Team Points PCT 1 Sri Lanka 24 100% 2 Australia 52 86.66% 3 Pakistan 36 75.00% 4 South Africa 36 60.00% 5 India 53 49.07% 6 New Zealand 28 38.88% 7 Bangladesh 12 25.00% 8 West Indies 12 25.00% 9 England 10 9.25%  Source: https://www.icc-cricket.com/world-test-championship/standings Also read: Hunting small targets helps me do well: Liton The team South Africa achieved a fantastic result by drawing the away series against New Zealand. South Africa will have to play two more difficult away series, against Australia and England, respectively in the ICC Test Championship. The outcomes of the series will determine their chances of making the final. Because South Africa is predicted to beat both Bangladesh and the West Indies in their upcoming home series. On the other hand, the incumbent champions, New Zealand, have struggled in the second edition of the Test Championship. They have drawn two home series against Bangladesh and South Africa, as well as losing an away series to India in November of last year.

South Africa's batters had no clue what to expect from New Zealand's bowling unit and were bowled out twice for low totals in the first Test in Christchurch. The hosts New Zealand defeated the visiting South Africa by an innings and 276 runs on Saturday (February 19), taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. New Zealand hope to whitewash South Africa by winning the second match. The first Test report of the NZ vs SA 2022 series is discussed in this article. New Zealand vs South Africa Test Series 2022: First Match Report New Zealand captain Tom Latham asked South Africa to bat first. The Proteas batters had no idea what they were up against as they were bowled out for 95 runs in the first innings. In response, the Kiwis scored 482 runs in their first innings, putting them in a commanding position. Trailing by 387 runs, South Africa conceded an innings defeat after being knocked out for only 111 runs in the second innings. South Africa First Innings The South African batters' technique was awful Against New Zealand pacers. Therefore, they began to lose wickets at regular intervals from the start of the innings, finally losing all of their wickets before the first day's tea. Read Best Individual Performers of BPL 2022 However, special credit should go to Kiwi pacer Matt Henry, who was brilliant with his line and lengths in this innings, taking 7 of the 10 South African wickets. The Proteas batting unit was suffocated by his accuracy. In the first innings, Henry's final bowling figures were 15-7-23-7. South Africa's best scorer in the first innings was Zubayr Hamza (25). Besides, their highest partnership (33) came in the sixth wicket between Zubayr Hamza and Kyle Verreynne. New Zealand First Innings In response, New Zealand scored 482 runs in their first innings, owing to some excellent batting performances by the Kiwi players. The match's sole centurion, Henry Nicholls scored 105 runs, while wicketkeeper Tom Blundell (96) and Matt Henry (58) also contributed with the bat. Surprisingly, the best partnership in New Zealand's innings (94) was between Tom Blundell and Matt Henry on the tenth wicket. Read BPL 2022 Final: Five Reasons Behind Comilla Victorians’ Third Title Victory With their superb batting effort, New Zealand gained a whopping 387-run lead in the first innings. Duanne Olivier was the best among the Proteas bowlers. He took three wickets for the South African team. South Africa Second Innings South Africa's batting collapsed in the second innings, just as it had in the first. They were dismissed for just 111 runs. Middle-order batter Temba Bavuma scored the most runs for South Africa with 41, while wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne scored 30. They also put on the highest 31-run partnership for South Africa on the sixth wicket. The veteran pacer, Tim Southee was New Zealand's most successful bowler in the second innings. He took the most wickets with five. South Africa gave Test debuts to two newcomers, Glenton Stuurman and Sarel Erwee. Neither of them performed well in the contest. Read BAN vs AFG 2022: Momentous ODI records between Bangladesh and Afghanistan Meanwhile, South Africa have dropped to fourth place in the Test Championship after losing the first Test of NZ vs SA 2022 series. On the other hand, New Zealand have climbed to sixth place in the ICC World Test Championship (2021-2023 cycle). Player of the Match Right-arm fast-medium bowler Matt Henry was named player of the match for his outstanding balling effort in both innings. He had a great game, taking 9 wickets, including a 7-wicket haul in the first innings. Bottom Line  New Zealand have a poor Test record against South Africa in their own backyard, which is surprising. Including this one, the Kiwis have only two Test victories over the Proteas in 21 matches at home. The Blackcaps won their first Test match against the Proteas at home in 2004. On the other hand, the South African Test team has won eight matches in New Zealand, with the other matches ending in draws. Therefore, New Zealand will be aiming to win a Test series against South Africa on home soil for the first time by winning the second Test of the NZ vs SA 2022 series, which begins on Friday (February 25) at the same venue. Read AUS vs SL 2022: Australia Win T20I Series with Two Games to Spare