Keshav Maharaj’s stunning spell of 4 for 20 to back up Matthew Breetzke’s 112 helped South Africa secure a comfortable 67-run win over Australia in the first ODI, at Kingsmead in Durban, on Thursday.
Chasing 298 for victory, Australia had made a strong start, with Mitchell Marsh blazing away in the powerplay, including tonking Marco Jansen for three sixes. By the end of the ninth over, Marsh had tonked five sixes and blazed away to 60 off 35 balls. The openers had piled on 89 runs by then, with Marsh’s explosive batting dwarfing and otherwise quick start by Travis Head who had moved to 26 off only 19 balls.
However, Maharaj, who started off with a tidy over, struck in the last over of the Powerplay, dismissing the dangerous Marsh. Cooper Connolly ensured the momentum wasn’t lost. He cracked a couple of quick boundaries and even hit Jansen over the deep mid wicket boundary as the second wicket pair added a brisk 40 off only seven overs.
But, despite being taken apart for 46 runs in his first five overs, Jansen had the last laugh. Head was tricked by a cross-seam delivery and mistimed it to David Miller and fell early in the 17th over. Even as Australia looked comfortable at that point, with 129 on the board, that dismissal changed the course of their innings.
Bjorn Fortuin dismissed Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly in quick succession and triggered a collapse. Even as Matt Renshaw tried to keep Australia’s charge strong, he kept losing partners from the other end. Maharaj sent Cameron Green and Jack Edwards packing cheaply, and soon reduced the visitors to 189 for 6.
Renshaw attempted to counterattack in the company of Mitchell Starc, but his innings was cut short on 44 with Jansen plucked a stunning one-handed catch at deep mid wicket. The lower order crumbled soon thereafter, with the innings wrapping up in the 42nd over for 230.
Earlier in the day, South Africa’s charge was led by Breetzke with the bat. Electing to bowl, Australia struck early with Josh Hazlewood dismissing Tony de Zorzi for a seventh-ball duck. Quinton de Kock, Zorzi’s opening partner, followed him back to the pavilion within the powerplay and the hosts were reduced to 29 for 2.
Breetzke revived the innings in the company of Temba Bavuma, Ryan Rickleton and Miller, the first two providing reasonable contribution through the middle overs as South Africa clawed their way to 168 in the 34th over when half the line up was sent back.
However, it was the sixth wicket pair of Breetzke and Jansen who gave the innings the lift it needed. Jansen, especially, was severe. He got going by taking down Adam Zampa for two sixes and then went after Starc. The real carnage began in the death overs after Bretzkee notched up his century at run-a-ball. Beginning with the 47th over, Jansen tore into Nathan Ellis en route to his 59-ball 75. The late surge helped South Africa post 297 for 8, which proved to be a winning total in the end.
Brief Scores: South Africa 297/8 in 50 overs (Matthew Breetzke 112, Marco Jansen 75; Nathan Ellis 3-57, Adam Zampa 2-50) beat Australia 230 in 41.2 overs (Mitchell Marsh 60, Matt Renshaw 44; Keshav Maharaj 4-20, Bjorn Fortuin 2-34) by 67 runs.
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