Breetzke century and Maharaj four-for give South Africa 67-run win over Australia in Durban
South Africa beat Australia by 67 runs in the first ODI in Durban on Thursday, posting 297 for 8 before bowling Australia out for 230; Matthew Breetzke scored 112 from 106 balls and Keshav Maharaj took 4 for 20. Australia made a strong start in their chase but lost nine wickets for 101 runs and were dismissed before mounting a sustained recovery.
South Africa were in early trouble, reduced to 29 for 2 in the eighth over after Tony de Zorzi was out for a seven-ball duck and Quinton de Kock fell soon after. Temba Bavuma made 30 from 48 balls before being caught behind off Adam Zampa, and Ryan Rickelton contributed 19 before being dismissed by the leg-spinner. Breetzke steadied the innings, reaching his fifty from 51 balls and bringing up his hundred with a single in the 44th over for his second ODI century, while Marco Jansen accelerated to 75 from 59 as the pair added 107 for the sixth wicket and South Africa scored 54 in the final five overs to finish on 297 for 8.
Australia began the chase aggressively, Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head putting on 90 for the first wicket in 9.2 overs; Marsh finished with 60 from 36 balls and hit an over for 17 off Marco Jansen including a 104-metre six, while Head made 36 from 37. South Africa brought Maharaj into the attack and he provided the breakthrough when Marsh tried to drive and was caught by Breetzke at cover, finishing his first spell with 1 for 13 from four overs and helping to slow the scoring. Despite the positive start, Australia’s momentum did not endure and they eventually lost nine wickets for 101 runs.
Jansen returned to remove Head, who top-edged and was caught at deep third, and Gerald Fortuin struck to dismiss Josh Inglis, who edged a reverse-sweep to slip, leaving Australia 188 for 6. Maharaj then removed Cameron Green and Jack Edwards as the required rate climbed and the batting lineup failed to rebuild a long partnership. Australia required 110 from 20.3 overs at that point and could not recover the needed momentum.
Matt Renshaw and Mitchell Starc attempted to revive the chase, adding 14 runs in one over off Jansen, but Maharaj bowled a maiden and Jansen and Fortuin conceded only two runs in their next two overs. The key turning point came when Renshaw was dismissed for 44 after pulling a short ball from Gerald Coetzee towards the boundary and Jansen took a superb one-handed catch; Australia were 215 for 7 and needed 83 from 82 balls. Bosch then took two late wickets before Maharaj finished the innings by removing Adam Zampa, leaving Maharaj with 4 for 20 from 9.2 overs and Fortuin with 2 for 34.
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh reflected on missed opportunities after the defeat. "I'm pretty disappointed. South Africa outplayed us. It was a good game of cricket but we fell well short," Marsh said. "We had our opportunities. I am probably going to sound like a broken record speaking about having partnerships in our batting, but we weren't able to form many tonight." South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma complimented both departments. "Very satisfied. All round it was a good fight from the batters and bowlers," Bavuma said. "Looking at how both innings started, we were under pressure in the first 10 overs in each, but we managed to get a very competitive score on that wicket."
The second ODI will be played in Johannesburg on Sunday, with Australia expected to welcome back captain Pat Cummins.