Australia won the toss and opted to bowl first. However, their bowlers failed to make much of an impact as the Proteas openers added 108 in 19.4 overs. South African captain Temba Bavuma (35 off 55) was the first to go, caught at deep midwicket while trying to go after Glenn Maxwell. The in-form Rassie van der Dussen got a start, but could not carry on. He fell to Adam Zampa for 26 off 30 balls, holing out to long-on.
At the other end, Quinton de Kock was in supreme form as he smashed his second consecutive hundred. He eased his way to a half-century off 51 balls. Immediately after that, he crunched Zampa for consecutive fours. In the 23rd over, consecutive sixes came off Josh Hazlewood’s bowling. It was not a surprise that De Kock also brought up his hundred with a maximum - thumping a short ball from Pat Cummins over square leg.
It needed a bizarre stroke to end De Kock’s stay for 109 off 106 balls. He attempted a reverse pull off Maxwell, but ended up dragging the ball onto his stumps. Aiden Markram (56 off 44), Heinrich Klaasen (29 off 27) and Marco Jansen (26 off 22) chipped in with handy knocks as South Africa ended on 311/7.
Australia never got going in the chase and were not helped by some controversial DRS decisions. Openers Mitchell Marsh (7) and David Warner (13) fell cheaply again. Steven Smith (19) was given lbw Kagiso Rabada and was shocked as the naked eye felt the ball going down leg. Rabada then comprehensively cleaned up Josh Inglis (5) - the batter’s stunned expression saying it all.
Maxwell (3 off 17) looked out of sorts and chipped a return catch to left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. Marcus Stoinis’ (5) dismissal was another matter of debate. He was given caught down leg, but his hand was off the bat when the ball hit the glove. At 70/6, the writing was on the wall for Australia. They dragged their innings to 177. For South Africa, Rabada claimed three, while Jansen, Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi finished with two each.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
