South Africa vs Australia, 1st ODI Stats Review: Temba Bavuma’s Purple Patch, Marnus Labuschagne’s second-best score and other stats

Captain Temba Bavuma’s terrific unbeaten century went in vain as Marnus Labuschagne, who came in as a concussion substitute for Cameron Green, smashed an unbeaten 80 off 93, while Ashton Agar registered his highest score of 48* as Australia defeated South Africa by a margin of three wickets in the first one-day international in Bloemfontein. With this, the Aussies took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series and continued their domination on the tour after winning the T20I series 3-0 (3).

Speaking about how the game unfolded, skipper Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to field first. Wicketkeeper batter Quinton de Kock scored just 11 while Rassie van der Dussen got dismissed for eight. Wickets kept falling but Skipper Bavuma held the other end and led his side from the front. He got some support from Marco Jansen who racked up 32 runs off 40.

Bavuma ended his innings on 114* off 142 with 14 fours and a six as courtesy of his knock the home side managed to post 222 on the board in 49 overs. In reply, David Warner bagged a duck while his opening partner Travis Head got out for 33. Australia’s middle-order failed miserably and it was the pair of Labuschagne and Agar who rescued their side in some style. The duo stitched an unbeaten 112 stand for the eighth wicket as the visitors emerged victorious in the 41^st over. For his solid half-century, Labuschagne grabbed the Player of the Match award.

 Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from the 1^st ODI between South Africa and Australia:

114* - Temba Bavuma registered his second-best score of 114* in ODIs. His highest score of 144 came against West Indies this year.

3 – Bavuma has now smashed the most centuries (three) by a captain in ODIs in 2023. Babar Azam and Shai Hope have struck two hundreds each.

106.80 – Bavuma has racked up 534 runs in just seven innings at a staggering average of 106.80 with three tons and one fifty in the 50-overs format in 2023.

80* - Marnus Labuschagne also achieved his second-best score of 80* in ODI cricket. His highest score of 108 also came against the same opposition in the year 2020.

112* - Labuschagne and Ashton Agar recorded the second-highest eighth-wicket partnership for Australia in ODI cricket. Paul Reifel and Shane Warne are on top for sharing a 119-run stand against the Proteas in the year 1994.

117 – Quinton de Kock has managed to score only 117 runs at an average of just 16.71 in his last seven innings against Australia.

259 – Bavuma has amassed 259 runs in three innings at a solid average of 129.50 with two centuries in one-day internationals in Bloemfontein.

48* - Agar recorded his highest score of 48* in ODIs. His previous best of 46 came against England in 2018.

1 – Labuschagne and Agar scripted the highest eighth wicket stand in Bloemfontein. They surpassed Sean Ervine and Heath Streak’s stand of 78* against New Zealand in the World Cup 2003.

3 – Captain Bavuma is now also joint-top with Fakhar Zaman, Shubman Gill, and Sean Williams for slamming three tons in the format this year.

2 – Skipper Bavuma also equalled Colin Ingram and Sanath Jayasuriya at the top for hitting two centuries in Bloemfontein.