Matthew Breetzke continued his rich vein of form as his stupendous second ODI ton helped South Africa beat Australia and draw first blood in the series. Australia had no answers to the brilliance of Matthew Breetzke, while others like Marco Jansen supported him well. After being put into bat first, the Proteas rode on a ton from Matthew Breetzke and a ton from Marco Jansen to post a challenging 297/8 in 50 overs.
In the chase, despite a rollicking start in the power play where 90 runs were scored in 9 overs and 60 off them by Mitchell Marsh, Australia crumbled as Keshav Maharaj spun a web with his 4-wicket haul and Bjorn Fortuin, the other spinner, picked up 2 wickets as well, as Australia lost 10/140 from 90/0 in the power play to lose the match convincingly by 67 runs.
Matthew Breetzke’s masterful 2nd ODI ton powered South Africa to a fighting 297/8 in 50 overs
Put into bat first, keeper-batter Quinton de Kock and Tony de Zorzi came out to open the batting for South Africa while Mitchell Starc had the new ball in hand for Australia. The openers struggled against disciplined Australian bowling as they put 6 runs in 3 overs before Tony de Zorzi fell for a duck off 7 balls to Josh Hazlewood. Captain Temba Bavuma came out to bat next.
De Kock and Bavuma tried to forge a partnership and added 23 runs for the second wicket before de Kock fell for 14 off 18 balls with one four and one six to his name to Nathan Ellis. Matthew Breetzke came out to bat next. Breetzke and Bavuma started to forge a stand where Breetzke was the aggressor of the two while Bavuma played himself in. They took South Africa to 40/2 in the first power play of 10 overs.
The duo put on 54 crucial runs for the third wicket before Bavuma gave his wicket away for 30 off 48 balls with 4 fours to his name to Adam Zampa. Ryan Rickelton came out to bat next. Rickelton came out all guns blazing while Breetzke was a class apart from the other end. The duo tried to forge a stand and added 42 runs for the 4th wicket before Rickelton was holed out in the deep by Renshaw off Zampa for 27 off 26 balls with 4 fours to his name.
David Miller came out to bat next, and it was a struggle for Miller out in the middle. Breetzke did the heavy lifting in this 5th wicket stand and added 43 runs for the 5th wicket before Miller fell for 9 off 25 balls to Nathan Ellis. South Africa were 168/5 in 33.5 overs when Marco Jansen joined Breetzke in the middle.
What followed after this was a remarkable fightback led by Breetzke and well supported by Jansen. Jansen was the aggressor of the two as Breetzke did his bit and just showed why he was a run machine. They maximised the death overs phase and took the attack to Australia, whose bowlers crumbled under pressure. Breetzke completed his second ODI ton while Jansen completed a delightful half-century as well.
The duo put on a game-changing 107 runs for the 6th wicket before Breetzke was run out for 112 off 106 balls with 14 fours and 2 sixes to his name via a run-out from Connolly from the deep. Corbin Bosch came out to bat next. Jansen continued his merry ways and converted his fifty into a big score. The duo of Jansen and Bosch added 14 runs for the 7th wicket before Jansen fell for 75 off 59 balls with 7 fours and 4 sixes to his name to Nathan Ellis. Gerald Coetzee came out to bat next.
Coetzee hit a maximum as well, and 7 more runs were added to the tally before Coetzee was run out for 6 off 4 balls with one six to his name, with one ball left in the innings. Bjorn Fortuin came out to bat next and got a single off the final ball of the innings. So, South Africa finished with 297/8 in 50 overs with Bosch unbeaten on 9 off 6 balls with one four to his name while Fortuin was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 14 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a mixed bag for the Australian bowlers. Nathan Ellis chipped in with 3/57 in 10 overs. Adam Zampa finished with 2/50 in 7 overs. Josh Hazlewood finished with 1/50 in 10 overs. Mitchell Starc finished with 0/60 in 10 overs. Jack Edwards finished with 0/56 in 10 overs on debut. Cooper Connolly bowled an over for 7 runs. Matt Renshaw finished with 0/11 in 2 overs. So, this meant that Australia needed 298 runs to win off 50 overs to win the first ODI and take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
Keshav Maharaj’s 4-wicket haul helped bowl Australia out for 230 in 41.2 overs
Chasing 298 for the win, captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head came out to open the batting for Australia while Marco Jansen had the ball in hand for South Africa. The duo started with a bang in the mandatory power play. It was the Mitchell Marsh show as he dominated and tore apart the South African pace bowling in the power play. Marsh dazzled his way and Head complemented him well out there.
The duo were going at 10 runs an over and hammered 90 in the first 9 overs. The duo put on 90 for the first wicket as well before Marsh fell for 60 off 36 balls with 5 fours and 6 sixes to his name to Keshav Maharaj.
Cooper Connolly came out to bat next. The duo of Head and Connolly added 39 runs for the second wicket before Head, the other opener, fell for 36 off 37 balls with 5 fours to his name to Marco Jansen. Keeper-batter Josh Inglis came out to bat next. South Africa got another wicket quickly as just 5 runs were added for the third wicket before Inglis fell for 3 off 8 balls to Bjorn Fortuin. Matt Renshaw came out to bat next.
Connolly and Renshaw added 22 runs for the 4th wicket before Connolly fell for 38 off 42 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name after getting a start against Fortuin. Cameron Green came out to bat next. Green and Renshaw managed to add 20 runs for the 5th wicket before Green fell for 5 off 10 balls to Maharaj as half the side was back in the hut for 176. Debutant Jack Edwards came out to bat next.
The duo of Renshaw and Edwards added 13 runs to the score before Edwards fell for 5 off 15 balls to Maharaj. Mitchell Starc came out to bat next and showed some fight by playing his shots. The duo of Renshaw and Starc got the Aussies past 200 and added 27 runs for the 7th wicket before Renshaw the last of the recognised batters, fell for 44 off 49 balls with 6 fours to his name to Gerald Coetzee.
Nathan Ellis came out to bat next, and the Aussies were in trouble now. Just 6 runs were added to the tally before Starc too fell for 16 off 27 balls with 2 fours to his name to Corbin Bosch. Adam Zampa came out to bat next. Zampa and Ellis added 9 runs for the 9th wicket before Ellis fell for 4 off 10 balls to Bosch who cleaned him up. Josh Hazlewood came out to bat next.
The score remained at 230 before Zampa was the last man out for 7 off 15 balls with one four to his name to Maharaj as Australia were bowled out for 230 in 41.2 overs, collapsing from 90/0 and losing the 10 wickets for 140 runs from a dominating position. Hazlewood remained unbeaten on 0 off 9 balls. 12 extras were given by the fielding side.
South Africa weathered the early storm in the power play and roared back with the ball in hand. Keshav Maharaj was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/20 in 9.2 overs. Bjorn Fortuin chipped in with 2/34 in 8 overs. Corbin Bosch finished with 2/67 in 9 overs. Gerald Coetzee finished with 1/40 in 8 overs. Marco Jansen finished with 1/64 in 7 overs. So, South Africa won the match by 67 runs to draw first blood in this 3-match series as they lead the series 1-0. Matthew Breetzke was awarded the Player of the Match Award.
What Lies Ahead
So, South Africa lead the series 1-0 with a stupendous win in Durban. They would like to seal the series in the 2nd ODI. The 2nd ODI is set to take place on Sunday 27th September, 2026 at Johannesburg from 1:30 PM IST onwards, and it will be a pink game with the Proteas donning the Pink Jersey. South Africa will aim to win and seal yet another series against Australia with a game to spare. Australia will be desperate to bounce back and level the series 1-1, with maybe Pat Cummins in charge on Sunday.
Let’s see how the second ODI pans out in Johannesburg.
Also Read: SA vs AUS: Matthew Breetzke’s Stunning 2nd ODI Ton Powers South Africa To A Fighting Total