South Africa staged a tremendous comeback from 0-2 down and made a strong comeback winning the next 3 matches against Australia in hard fought series. Quinton de Kock featured in his last ODI series at home and showed his abilities. The first match was played at Blofemntion where Australia won the toss and decided to field first. Australian bowlers kept it tight picking wickets at regular intervals but South African captain Temba Bavuma stayed unbeaten at 114 and helped host post 222.
Kagiso Rabada, Ngidi, Jansen, and Coetzee reduced Australia to 113 for 7 before concussion substitute Labuschagne and Ashton Agar staged an unbelievable 112 runs partnership for the 8th wicket helping Australia register 3 wicket win to take a 1-0 lead.
Australia continued their domination in the second One-day international at Blofemntion. South African captain Bavuma won the toss and decided to field first. Travis Head and David Warner put on 109 runs for the opening partnership in just 11.5 overs laying a strong foundation for a massive total.
Travis Head 106, Marnus Labuschagne 124, and Josh Inglis 50 helped Australia post a mammoth total of 392 for 8 in 50 overs. In reply, Bavuma and de Kock put on excellent display putting on 81 runs for the opening wicket but lost wickets at regular intervals to be bowled out for 269 in 41.5 overs. Australia won the match by 123 to give a 2-0 series lead.
The turnaround came in the 3rd ODI match at Potchefstroom. Australian stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and elected to field first. Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma showed class putting on 146 runs for the opening wicket laying a strong foundation for a big total. De Kock and Bavuma scored half-centuries.
Aiden Markram’s unbeaten 102 off 74 deliveries and Marco Jansen’s quickfire 32 helped South Africa post 338 for 6 in 50 overs. It was an impressive bowling effort as they bowled out Australia for 227 runs with Coetzee the top wicket-taker with 4 for 50 while Shamsi and Maharaj took 2 wickets each to give SA 111 runs victory making a comeback into the series.
The fourth ODI was a brilliant batting performance by South African batters especially by Klassen and David Miller. Both put on 222 runs partnership off 94 deliveries smashing Australian bowlers to all parts of SuperSport Park, Centurion helping South Africa 416 for 5. South Africa registered an impressive 164-run victory to level the series at 2-2. For his 174, Klassen was named the Man of the Match award.
Aiden Markram was appointed stand-in captain due to an injury to Bavuma. It was an impressive performance by South Africa in the deciding ODI at Johannesburg on 17 September 2023. After being asked to bat first, the hosts scored 315 for 9 in 50 overs. Contributions by Markram’s 93, Miller’s 63, Marco Jansen’s quickfire 47, and Andile Phehlukawyo’s unbeaten 38 helped them to post a decent total.
Marco Jansen did the job from the front picking up the first five wickets while Keshav Maharaj took 4 and Andile 1 wicket to bowl out Australia for 193 to register 122 runs victory.
Good Confidence Booster Ahead of World Cup 2023
The win against South Africa will be a good confidence ahead of the World Cup 2023. Heinrich Klassen finished as the leading runs scorer in the series for Proteas with 243 runs from 5 matches ( 5 innings) with a career-best score of 174.
Aiden Markram scored 225 runs from 5 matches including the best score of 102 not out. He was named the player of the series award for his consistent performance.
South Africa’s left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj ended the series with 8 wickets from 4 matches. Marco Jansen also grabbed 8 wickets including best figures of 5 for 39 in the final ODI match.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
