A knock of 64 runs from captain AB de Villiers helped South Africa to post a total of 283-7 in their third one-day international against New Zealand in Durban this afternoon.
Morne van Wyk's fourth ODI half-century and Hashim Amla (44) provided the hosts with a steady start to their innings, but once they were dismissed, De Villiers took over.
In making his 64, the 31-year-old became the fastest ever batsman to have reached 8,000 runs in the 50-over format of the game.
He was eventually bowled by Doug Bracewell, while Farhaan Behardien (40) and David Miller (36) helped to push the Proteas towards the 300 mark, although they would ultimately fall short of that figure.
In reply, the Kiwis must score 284 runs to win the match and the series, which is currently level at one victory apiece.
Liam Apicella
