Photo: Collected
The hosts came under considerable pressure with the bat at the start of the innings. From there, Matthew Breetzke pulled the side up, hitting a superb century. Towards the end, Marco Jansen’s aggressive batting took the team close to three hundred. In reply, just when Australia were about to take the match in their grip after a flying start, Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin showed the magic of spin. With that, South Africa blew the Aussies away in the first ODI of the series.
Riding on Breetzke’s dazzling 112, the Proteas beat Australia by 67 runs in the first ODI of the three-match series in Durban on Thursday. Getting into a contest of throwing away wickets, Australia seemed to hand the victory to the hosts themselves.
South Africa posted 297 for 8 in the stipulated 50 overs. In reply, Australia’s batting line-up collapsed through poor shot selection despite getting a blistering start. Losing their last nine wickets for just 101 runs, they were bowled out for 230.
The possibility of captain Pat Cummins returning in the second ODI in Johannesburg next Sunday may give Australia some relief. However, considering the preparation for the 2027 World Cup to be held in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe, this defeat will certainly leave Australia deeply worried.
Batting on the morning of the match was the toughest test. The Aussie bowlers, who chose to field after winning the toss, almost brought South Africa’s scoring to a halt at the start. However, coming in at number four, Breetzke built the innings with conventional cricketing shots, and he was later given excellent support by hard-hitting all-rounder Jansen.
Breetzke, who has scored at an average of more than 60 in the 15 ODIs he has played so far, played an elegant innings of 112 off 106 balls. Jansen made 75 off 59 balls to reach his best ODI innings. The 107-run partnership between the two for the sixth wicket laid the foundation for the big total. Although even getting 250 seemed uncertain at one stage, the total of 297 for 8 in the end became a solid foundation for victory.
Australia got a superb start in the run chase. With Travis Head (36 off 37 balls) alongside him, Mitchell Marsh added 90 runs for the opening stand in just 9.2 overs, of which Marsh alone made a blistering 60 off 36 balls.
But despite there being no great pressure, one batter after another then gave away his wicket with irresponsible shots. Even from an advantageous position, the Aussies went on the back foot by losing wickets at regular intervals, and the scoring rate also stalled.
Australia lost their seventh wicket at 215 when Matt Renshaw, who made 44, departed to an unbelievable one-handed diving catch by Jansen at the boundary line. The visitors could not recover from that blow and get back into the match.
The main architects of turning the match around were the two Proteas spinners. Keshav Maharaj took 4 wickets for just 20 runs in 9.2 overs, while Bjorn Fortuin claimed 2 wickets for 34 runs in 8 overs.
The second of the three-match ODI series will be held next Sunday in Johannesburg.
