Wicket-keeper batter Alex Carey stood out with an all-round batting performance, helping Australia put up 322 on the board after being asked to bat first by South Africa. Alex Carey was superb with his 74, while Mitchell Marsh got another half-century and others chipped in with starts as Australia amassed 322/9 in 50 overs in what turned out to be a rain-affected game.
In reply, Ryan Rickelton’s unbeaten 71 went in vain as Australia’s duo of Xavier Bartlett and Adam Zampa picked up 2 wickets apiece as South Africa reached 145/4 in 28 overs when rain intervened, and persistent rain after that cut short the action. In the end, the par score in DLS was 190, and South Africa were 45 runs behind, so the Aussies got a consolation 45-run win and a confidence boost ahead of the 3-match Test series in October.
All-round batting performance led by Alex Carey powered Australia to a competitive 322/9 in 50 overs
Put into bat first, captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head came out to open the batting for Australia while Gerald Coetzee had the ball in hand for South Africa. Australia got off to another flying start in the power play, with Marsh being the dominant partner while Head played second fiddle to him. The duo dominated the power play and put on 78 for the first wicket inside 9 overs before Head was dismissed for 24 off 20 balls with 5 fours to his name to Corbin Bosch, who cleaned him up.
Cooper Connolly came out to bat next. Australia were 82/1 in 10 overs of the mandatory power play. Marsh and Connolly tried to forge a partnership and added 16 runs for the second wicket before Marsh fell for 56 off 42 balls with 8 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Bjorn Fortuin. Oliver Peake came out to bat next. Connolly got a start and tried to forge a partnership with Peake as they put on 24 runs for the 3rd wicket before Connolly fell for 23 off 33 balls with 2 fours to his name before being clean bowled by Gerald Coetzee.
Keeper-batter Alex Carey came out to bat next. Peake and Carey got together and forged a partnership to keep Australia on track and the tempo going. The duo aced the middle phase of the game and put on an important 73-run stand for the 4th wicket before Peake fell for a well-made 48 off 53 balls with 4 fours and one six to his name to Bosch. Matt Renshaw came out to bat next.
Renshaw and Carey then got together and forged a partnership to take Australia forward. The duo added another crucial stand as they put on 66 runs for the 5th wicket before Renshaw fell for 30 off 29 balls with 2 fours and one six to his name to Gerald Coetzee. Cameron Green came out to bat next. Carey completed his half-century and made a significant contribution. The duo of Carey and Green added 28 runs for the 6th wicket before Carey fell for 74 off 88 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Bosch. Xavier Bartlett came out to bat next.
Just 3 runs were added to the score before Bartlett fell for 2 off 4 balls to Lizaad Williams, who cleaned him up. Pat Cummins came out to bat next. Green and Cummins added 10 runs for the 8th wicket before Green, the last set batter, fell for 23 off 18 balls with one four and one six to his name to Bosch. Mitchell Starc came out to bat next. Starc and Cummins added 16 runs for the 9th wicket to take Australia past the 300-run mark before Cummins fell for 11 off 6 balls with 2 fours to his name to Williams.
Adam Zampa came out to bat next. Starc added some valuable runs towards the end, including hitting a maximum as Zampa remained a spectator at the other end. The duo added 8 runs off the last 7 balls as Australia ended their innings at a competitive 322/9 in 50 overs. Starc remained unbeaten on 11 off 7 balls with one four and one six to his name alongside Zampa, unbeaten on 0 off 2 balls. 20 extras were given by the fielding side.
South Africa bowled decently in the middle. Corbin Bosch was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/60 in 9 overs. Gerald Coetzee finished with 2/61 in 9 overs. Lizaad Williams finished with 2/48 in 6 overs. Bjorn Fortuin finished with 1/50 in 9 overs. Nqobani Mokoena finished with 0/42 in 7 overs. Aiden Markram, the captain for the day, finished with 0/42 in 8 overs. Tristan Stubbs finished with 0/10 in 2 overs. This meant that South Africa’s target was 323 runs to win off 50 overs to win the series 3-0 and complete the whitewash. Tony de Zorzi hurt his hamstring and was ruled out of the remainder of the game.
Ryan Rickelton’s unbeaten 71 ends in vain as rain cuts short the chase after 28 overs; Australia win by 45 runs
Chasing a massive 323 for the win in 50 overs, captain for the day Aiden Markram and keeper-batter Quinton de Kock came out to open the batting for South Africa while Mitchell Starc had the ball in hand for Australia. South Africa got off to a shaky start as just 4 runs were on the board, with de Kock being the first to depart for a 5-ball duck to Xavier Bartlett. Ryan Rickelton came out to bat next.
The duo of Markram and Rickelton added 26 runs for the second wicket before the captain, Markram, fell for 15 off 16 balls with 3 fours to his name to Bartlett. Matthew Breetzke came out to bat next. Rickelton and Breetzke tried to forge a partnership as they helped South Africa post 54/2 in 10 overs of the mandatory power play. Rickelton and Breetzke got together and brought South Africa back on track. The duo put on an important 72-run stand for the third wicket before Breetzke fell for 25 off 29 balls with 3 fours to his name to Adam Zampa.
Tristan Stubbs came out to bat next. Rickelton kept the Proteas’ fight going while Stubbs supported him a little bit. The duo added 23 runs for the 4th wicket before Stubbs fell for 14 off 17 balls with one four to his name to Zampa. Corbin Bosch came out to bat next as Rickelton had passed his half-century and looked good for more. Bosch looked good, and Rickelton looked set as well.
The duo added exactly 20 runs unbeaten for the 5th wicket. South Africa reached 145/4 in 28 overs when rain got heavier and persistent rain washed out the remaining part of the game. Rickelton remained unbeaten on 71 off 81 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name, while Bosch was unbeaten on 13 off 20 balls with one four to his name. The DLS par score was 190, so South Africa fell short by 45 runs. 7 extras were given by the Aussies.
Xavier Bartlett finished with figures of 2/25 in 5 overs. Adam Zampa finished with 2/34 in 6 overs. Mitchell Starc bowled 6 overs for 33 runs. Pat Cummins bowled 5 overs for 17 runs. Cooper Connolly finished with 0/13 in 3 overs. Matt Renshaw bowled an over for 8 runs. Oliver Peake bowled 2 overs for 11 runs. So, Australia won this game by 45 runs under the DLS method as the series finishes 2-1 in South Africa’s favour. Alex Carey was awarded the Player of the Match Award. Keshav Maharaj was awarded the Player of the Series Award.
What Lies Ahead
The ODI series is done and dusted, with the hosts South Africa winning it by 2 matches to 1. The focus will now shift to the Test matches. Both teams will be involved in a 3-match Test series, and all the action will start on October 9th, i.e., Friday, at Kingsmead in Durban, where South Africa will host Australia. It’s going to be Temba Bavuma vs Pat Cummins. A repeat of the WTC 2025 grand finale. 1- 2 in the current standings as well. It promises to be epic, and we can’t wait for it to get started.
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