David Miller stood up when it was required and scored a breathtaking 142 off 93 balls and took the game away from Australia. David Miller had a great partnership with Temba Bavuma, his skipper, who scored a ton as well, and the other batters like Duan Jansen gave the finishing kick as South Africa powered their way to 365/9 in 50 overs despite starting slowly in the powerplay.
In reply, Australia tried hard, with Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head scoring 84 each, and Xavier Bartlett towards the end scored a half-century off 28 balls. But the middle order wilted under pressure and lost the plot a little bit. Australia tried hard and got to 333, which is a moral victory for them, but still it was not enough as they lost the match by 32 runs.
David Miller & Temba Bavuma’s twin tons power South Africa to a massive 365/9 in 50 overs
Put into bat by Australia again, Aiden Markram and keeper-batter Quinton de Kock came out to open the batting for South Africa while Josh Hazlewood had the ball in hand for Australia. The Aussies and Hazlewood got off to a dream start as Markram fell off the first ball of the innings thanks to a stunner from Cooper Connolly at gully region. Captain Temba Bavuma came out to bat next at 3. Quinton and Bavuma tried to forge a partnership to bring South Africa back on track.
The duo put on 36 for the second wicket inside 7 overs before the keeper-batter de Kock fell for 15 off 13 balls with 2 sixes to his name to Hazlewood again, who got his second wicket. Last match’s centurion Matthew Breetzke came out to bat next. South Africa were 51/2 in the first 10 overs of the powerplay, and at this stage, it was Australia who had their noses in front as we entered the middle phase of the game.
Bavuma and Breetzke once again got together, with Breetzke being the aggressor of the two. The duo tried to forge a partnership of 57 runs for the third wicket before Breetzke fell for 34 off 28 balls with 6 fours to his name to Jack Edwards. David Miller came out to join his skipper Bavuma in the middle with the score at 93/3 in 15.3 overs.
From hereon, it was the David Miller-Temba Bavuma show. The duo complemented each other well in the middle phase and took the game away from the visitors. Miller was the aggressor of the two, while Bavuma went about his business, showing good technique out there, playing a proper ODI innings. Miller was the showstopper as his innings took the game away from Australia, and he loves batting against the Aussies.
Bavuma reached his ton as the duo put on an amazing 156 runs off 132 balls to lay the base for the end overs in this 4th wicket stand. Eventually, Bavuma fell for a magnificent 103 off 116 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Edwards’s delight yet again. Tristan Stubbs came out to bat next. Stubbs couldn’t really get going as Miller was going great at the other end and completed his ton. The duo of Miller and Stubbs added 12 runs for the 5th wicket before Stubbs fell for 6 off 8 balls with one four to his name to Edwards.
Marco Jansen came out to bat next. Miller carried on his good work while Marco played his shots as the duo forged a partnership to take their side past 300 runs. The duo put on 46 runs for the 6th wicket before Marco fell for 19 off 15 balls with one four and two sixes to his name to Edwards. Duan Jansen, Marco’s brother, came out to bat next. Duan came and played his shots as he tried to provide the finishing kick to the innings. Miller and Duan added 24 runs for the 7th wicket before Miller fell for a magnificent 142 off 93 balls with 12 fours and 9 sixes to his name to Edwards.
Bjorn Fortuin came out to bat next. Fortuin and Duan added a quick 22-run stand for the 8th wicket to take the team past 350 before Fortuin fell for 5 off 5 balls to Hazlewood. Keshav Maharaj came out to bat next. He came and hit a boundary to start his innings. The duo added 7 runs to the score before Maharaj fell for 4 off 2 balls, with one four to his name, to Xavier Bartlett. Lizaad Williams came out to bat next.
The duo of Jansen added 5 runs unbeaten off the last 3 balls to take South Africa to 365/9 in 50 overs. Jansen remained unbeaten on 27 off 18 balls with 4 fours to his name while Williams was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 9 extras were given by the fielding side.
It was a tough day for the Australian bowlers despite starting well and finishing with a total of 9 wickets. Jack Edwards was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5/67 in 10 overs. Josh Hazlewood supported him well with figures of 3/70 in 10 overs. Xavier Bartlett finished with 1/70 in 10 overs. Nathan Ellis bowled 4 overs for 22 runs and went off the field with a side strain. Adam Zampa finished with 0/77 in 9 overs. Cooper Connolly finished with 0/27 in 4 overs. Matt Renshaw bowled 3 overs for 29 runs. Australia were set a target of 366 runs to win off 50 overs to level the series 1-1.
All-Round bowling performance led by Lizaad Williams restricts Australia to 333 in 49.5 overs
Chasing a massive 366 runs for a series levelling 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. Much like the first game, the opening duo gave the Aussies a lightning start in the powerplay. Mitchell Marsh put on another dazzling show as Australia, for the second game in a row, dominated the power play against their opponents. The duo put on 77 runs in the first 10 overs to lay the platform for the team.
The duo added 130 runs for the opening wicket inside 17 overs before Marsh, the aggressor, fell for 84 off 53 balls with 10 fours and 5 sixes to his name as he was cleaned up by Bjorn Fortuin. Cooper Connolly came out to bat next. Australia had a platform to build, and they had to navigate the middle phase of the game. The duo between Head and Connolly added 27 runs for the second wicket before Connolly fell for 10 off 7 balls with 2 fours to his name to Williams. Keeper-batter Alex Carey came out to bat next.
Head also passed his fifty and went beyond as the duo added 34 runs for the third wicket before Head fell for 84 off 76 balls in 12 fours and one six to his name to Aiden Markram. Matt Renshaw came out to bat next. Carey and Renshaw added 12 runs for the 4th wicket before Carey fell for 17 off 21 balls to Keshav Maharaj. Cameron Green came out to bat next. It was a struggle for Green out there.
Renshaw continued the fight and gave some impetus to the innings. The duo of Renshaw and Green added 38 runs for the 5th wicket before Renshaw fell for 32 off 34 balls with 4 fours to his name to Maharaj. Jack Edwards came out to bat next. Just 10 runs were added to the tally before Green fell for 17 off 34 balls to Fortuin. Xavier Bartlett came out to bat next and gave the team the impetus.
Bartlett took on the bowling while Edwards struggled a tad before hitting a maximum as well. The duo added 61 runs for the 7th wicket, with Bartlett doing the bulk of the scoring before Edwards fell for 25 off 30 balls, with one six to his name, to Marco Jansen. Adam Zampa came out to bat next. Zampa fell on the first ball for a golden duck as Marco had two in two balls. Nathan Ellis came out with a side strain issue and survived the hat-trick ball.
Bartlett and Ellis managed to add 10 runs for the 9th wicket before Bartlett’s brave innings came to an end for 50 off 28 balls with 2 fours and 5 sixes to his name to Lizaad Williams. Josh Hazlewood came out to bat next. Ellis and Hazlewood added 11 runs for the final wicket before Hazlewood was the last man to be dismissed for 2 off 10 balls to Williams. Nathan Ellis remained unbeaten on 7 off 5 balls with one four to his name as Australia were bowled out for 333 in 49.5 overs. 5 extras were given by the fielding side.
South Africa held their nerves to win the contest in the end. Lizaad Williams finished his spell with figures of 3/54 in 7.5 overs. Keshav Maharaj bowled well with his figures of 2/54 in 10 overs. Marco Jansen finished with 2/53 in 7 overs. Bjorn Fortuin finished with 2/70 in 10 overs. Aiden Markram finished with 1/55 in 10 overs. Duan Jansen bowled 5 overs for 44 runs. So, South Africa won this high-scoring match by 32 runs to win the series 2-0 with a game to spare. David Miller was adjudged the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead
South Africa have won this contest and the series 2-0. They would love to inflict a series whitewash when the two teams meet on Wednesday, 30th September, 2026 at Potchefstroom from 5 PM IST onwards. This is the 3rd ODI of the series. Can Australia salvage pride and gain confidence ahead of the Test series. Find out on Wednesday evening.
Also Read: SA VS AUS: 3 Reasons For Australia’s Crushing Loss In 1st ODI.