Birmingham, Jun 20 (IANS): New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson, who played the captain's knock to guide his team to a four-wicket win in a tense World Cup encounter against South Africa, felt it was Colin de Grandhomme who was the star performer for them.

Williamson remained not out at 106 and made sure the Black Caps chase down 242-run target on Wednesday without much hiccups. His innings decorated with nine fours and a six, as the Kiwis saw off stiff resistance from the Proteas to win with three balls to spare.

de Grandhomme supported Williamson well with a gutsy 47-ball 60 which was studded with five fours and two sixes.

Apart from sharing a match-winning 91-run stand for the sixth wicket with Williamson, de Grandhomme also proved his mettle with the ball as he returned with highly economical figures of 1/33 in his 10 overs. He picked the wicket of Aiden Markaram (38) as the Kiwis restricted South Africa for 241/6 in their allotted 49 overs.

After the match, Williamson heaped praise on Grandhomme and said: "de Grandhomme for me was the standout with his bowling and the impetus he gave us with the bat in the end".

"He (de Grandhomme) is our x-factor player. He came in and hit the ball beautifully. He played a brilliant knock," he added.

With the win, the Black Caps have now moved to the top spot in the points table with nine points from five games. They will next face West Indies on Saturday at the Old Trafford in Manchester.