David Miller’s career-best 142 and Temba Bavuma’s 103 helped South Africa come back from a first-ball wicket and post 365/9 en route to their 32-run win in the second ODI at the Wanderers. The spinners then shut down a fast Australian start to seal the series 2-0 with a game to spare.
Australia chose to bowl after Mitchell Marsh won the toss, hoping to use the morning moisture, and they could not have asked for a better start. Aiden Markram slapped a short, wide delivery from Josh Hazlewood towards cover-point, where Cooper Connolly leapt to take a one-handed catch.
For the first hour, Australia looked to have made the right decision at the toss. The new ball swung more than it had in Durban, and Hazlewood and Xavier Bartlett kept beating the bat. Bavuma was 1 off 10 balls before deciding that the best way to survive was to attack, hitting a four and a six off Hazlewood in the third over to break the shackles.
At the other end, Quinton de Kock hit two sixes off Josh Hazlewood in the seventh over and then edged a drive behind. Matthew Breetzke added 57 with his captain before Jack Edwards removed him with his third ball of the match. And just like that, SA found themselves up against it at 93/3.
That’s when Miller and Bavuma got together for the mega rescue act. Miller took his time at first, and Australia strung together a few tight overs but once the ball stopped moving, SA quickly latched onto some momentum. Bavuma played the anchor and brought up his sixth ODI hundred to a standing ovation. By the time the SA captain holed out to deep cover on 103, the pair had added 156 and set SA on course for a massive total.
Jack Edwards’s slower bouncers and cutters brought him five wickets but even he was unable to stop Miller when it mattered. The 37-year-old reached his hundred in 73 balls, and went on to make 142 off 93, featuring 12 fours and 9 sixes, before he miscued one off Edwards to deep cover. Duan Jansen’s 27 off 18 at the end took South Africa past 360.
The pitch still had plenty in it for batting against the new ball, and Marsh and Travis Head showed that from the first over. They attacked the seamers, with Marsh hitting five sixes and Australia reaching 130 without loss in the 17th over. But like in Durban, Australia were found wanting against the older ball.
Shaun Pollock had suggested in hgis pitch report that the surface could aid turn once the sun had baked it, and that’s exactly how it played, with South Africa bowling 30 overs of spin, their most ever in a home ODI. Bjorn Fortuin struck in his first over when Marsh was hit on the pad and the ball rolled onto the stumps, ending his innings on 84 off 53 balls. Connolly then soon flicked a loose ball to mid-wicket. Head survived two drops off the bowling of Markram and looked set to take the game away, but he fell lbw sweeping Markram for 84.
From there South Africa’s spinners controlled the chase. Keshav Maharaj, Fortuin and Markram bowled full and straight on a pitch where the ball was now gripping, and Australia’s middle order could not find a way to score off them. Alex Carey was caught on the crease and trapped lbw while Matt Renshaw fought for 32 before Maharaj pinned him in front. Cameron Green, stuck on 17, charged at Fortuin and holed out.
Batting at No. 8, Xavier Bartlett hit five sixes on his way to a 26-ball fifty, the joint-fastest by an Australian against South Africa, and revived the hopes for Australia to some extent. Marco Jansen then took two wickets in two balls, Lizaad Williams trapped Bartlett with a yorker, and Hazlewood miscued to mid-off as Australia were wrapped up for 333.
Brief Scores: South Africa 365/9 (David Miller 142; Jack Edwards 5-67) beat Australia 333 all out in 49.5 overs (Mitchell Marsh 84, Travis Head 84; Lizaad Williams 3-54) by 32 runs
