Matthew Breetzke hit a century and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj took four wickets as South Africa beat Australia by 67 runs in the first one-day international at Kingsmead on Thursday. Breetzke’s 112 and a hard-hit 75 by Marco Jansen took South Africa to 297 for eight after they were sent in. But Australia became favourites when Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head thrashed 90 for the first wicket inside the 10-over powerplay. The match swung dramatically when Maharaj had Marsh caught for 60, made off 36 balls. Maharaj took four for 20 and Fortuin two for 34 as Australia were bowled out for 230.
A combination of excellent spin bowling by Maharaj and fellow left-armer Bjorn Fortuin, some poor shots and good catching put South Africa in charge.
“We’re pretty disappointed,” said Marsh, who was captaining Australia in the absence of Pat Cummins, who sat out the opening match of the three-game series after a late arrival in South Africa. “We pushed to get those last few wickets but they hammered us in the last 10 overs,” Marsh said at the post-match presentation. Marsh said Australia failed to build on his stand with Head.
“I thought Marco Jansen batted very well.
Breetzke Matches ODI Milestone as Australia Launches Aggressive Start
Breetzke has achieved a significant milestone by scoring eight 50-plus runs in his first 14 ODI innings for South Africa, equaling the record previously held by former India opener Navjot Singh Sidhu. In his innings, Breetzke faced early challenges but managed to stabilize the innings, stating, “It was tricky early on. With a bowling attack like that I really had to dig deep.”
He formed crucial partnerships, contributing to a 54-run stand with captain Temba Bavuma, who scored 30, and a 42-run partnership with Ryan Rickelton, who made 27. Breetzke was eventually involved in a sixth-wicket partnership of 107 runs off 83 balls with Jansen.
In contrast, the Australian innings began with an explosive display from Marsh, who hit five sixes within the first five overs. Jansen struggled during this period, conceding 33 runs in his first three overs, which set a challenging tone for the South African bowlers.
