Australia were 90 for one after 10 overs chasing 298. They were bowled out for 230. South Africa won the South Africa vs Australia 1st ODI at Kingsmead by 67 runs on Heritage Day, with Matthew Breetzke’s 112 and Keshav Maharaj’s 4/20 doing the heavy lifting.
The Proteas lead the three-match series 1-0, and they did it from a position where the game looked gone inside the first hour of the chase.
Marsh Sets Kingsmead Alight
Australian captain Mitchell Marsh came out swinging. His 60 came off 36 balls with five fours and six sixes, and the new-ball pair of Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch leaked a combined 100 runs in their first 10 overs.
For context, South Africa had managed 40 for two in their own powerplay. Australia had 90 on the board in the 10th over.
Then Temba Bavuma threw the ball to Keshav Maharaj. Marsh drove the left-arm spinner straight to Breetzke in the covers at 90 for one in the 10th over, and the South Africa vs Australia 1st ODI turned on that one shot.
How Keshav Maharaj And Bjorn Fortuin Choked The Chase
Travis Head (36) followed at 129 for two, a leading edge off Jansen carried to David Miller. Josh Inglis botched a reverse sweep off Bjorn Fortuin and was gone for three. Cooper Connolly (38) and Cameron Green (5) both holed out in the deep.
From 129 for one in the 17th over, Australia lost nine wickets for 101 runs. Their middle order handed over wickets it didn’t need to give, and the two left-arm spinners kept squeezing.
Matt Renshaw was the one Australian who dug in, scoring 44 off 49 balls. His stay ended with the catch of the match: Jansen diving full stretch to his right on the midwicket boundary and holding on one-handed to give Gerald Coetzee his wicket.
Keshav Maharaj finished with 4/20 from 9.2 overs, including two maidens, at an economy of 2.14. He removed Marsh, Green, Jack Edwards and finally Adam Zampa to close the game in the 42nd over.
Fortuin’s eight overs cost only 34 runs for two wickets. Bosch bounced back from that expensive opening spell to remove Mitchell Starc and Nathan Ellis. Australia were all out for 230 in 41.2 overs.
The fielding backed the spinners all the way. Nine of the 10 Australian wickets were catches, with Jansen taking four, Breetzke three and Miller two. The only exception was Ellis, bowled by Bosch.
Marsh admitted afterwards that he was “disappointed” with the result, and it is hard to argue. A side that raced to 129 for one should not lose a 298 chase by 67 runs.
The Matthew Breetzke Century That Set It Up
None of that happens without the Matthew Breetzke century that rescued the South African innings after Australia won the toss and bowled first.
The Proteas were 29 for two in the eighth over when Breetzke walked in. Tony de Zorzi had gone for a duck and Quinton de Kock for 14, on a slow surface offering seam movement in the first 20 overs.
Breetzke and Bavuma rebuilt with 54 in 10.2 overs before the captain was caught behind off Zampa for 30. Breetzke then added 42 with Ryan Rickelton (27) and 43 with Miller, who scraped nine off 25 balls.
At 168 for five in the 34th over, South Africa were in trouble. Jansen changed that.
The sixth-wicket pair put on 107 in 14.1 overs. Jansen launched Zampa for two big sixes in a 16-run 39th over and went on to smash 75 off 59 balls with four sixes, his third ODI half-century and equal to his best score in the format.
Breetzke was eventually run out for 112 off 106 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes. SuperSport confirmed it as the second ODI hundred of his career, and it earned him Player of the Match.
Matthew Breetzke, Proteas batter
“It was really tricky early on with those first two wickets going down and against a world class bowling attack we had to dig deep. It took a lot out of me mentally but just grateful that I got through and got that ton and we won the game.”
Matthew Breetzke, Proteas batter
“The chat was just to play nice and straight. When you looked too square you saw a few leading edges.”
South Africa closed on 297 for eight. Nathan Ellis was Australia’s best bowler with 3/57, while Zampa took 2/50 from seven overs.
What The South Africa vs Australia 1st ODI Tells Us
The Proteas were second best for long spells of this match. They were 29 for two with the bat and watched 90 runs fly off 10 overs with the ball.
They won anyway, because the spinners held their nerve and the fielders held their catches. Breetzke’s grit, Jansen’s muscle and Keshav Maharaj’s control add up to a side that finds a way.
Australia will know they let this one slip. The series moves on with South Africa one up and the visitors under pressure to fix a middle order that folded at Kingsmead.
Teams
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (capt), Matthew Breetzke, Ryan Rickelton, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj
Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Cooper Connolly, Josh Inglis (wk), Matt Renshaw, Cameron Green, Jack Edwards, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
