South Africa v Australia 1st T20I - 5 Talking Points

The first T20I between South Africa and the visitors Australia was a wonderful contest. The match saw neck to neck competition and was full of exciting ups and downs. Australia batted first and set a target of 158 runs for the home team to chase with the help valuable contributions from Aaron Finch and Mitchell Marsh. In reply, the South Africans got off to a terrible start after losing both their openers cheaply. However, the skipper Faf du Plessis kept the Proteas in the hunt. After the fall of the captain, David Miller took up the challenge and played a match-winning innings of 53 runs from just 35 balls to take his team past the finishing line. This victory gives them a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.

1. Collective efforts take Australia to a respectable total:

Australia didn’t really have a dominating day today with the bat. They lost Khawaja (9 from 10 balls) early while Steven Smith was dismissed for just 6 after consuming 17 balls. The lower middle order also did not do anything significant. In the beginning, Aaron Finch and David Warner gave steadied the ship after the early loss of wickets. However, both the batsmen fell in consecutive overs which pushed Australia on the backfoot. Warner (20 from 11 balls) departed in the 7th over while Finch was dismissed in the 8th over. Glenn Maxwell (17 from 11 balls) then gave a short push to the team score followed by Mitchell Marsh’s explosive 25 ball 35 runs. All these contributions saw Australia reach a satisfying total of 157/9 in 20 overs in the end.

2. Fast bowlers, Imran Tahir dazzle:

South African bowlers had a satisfying outing today with the ball. Kagiso Rabada gave South Africa the early breakthrough. David Wiese (2/16) then snapped up David Warner and Steven Smith. Chris Morris (1/35) and Kyle Abbott (1/32) also took a wicket each, both of them were very important. Morris got rid of the dangerous Glenn Maxwell while the latter took the wicket of Mitchell Marsh in the 20 over. Imran Tahir (3/21) was the pick of the Proteas bowlers today. He bowled in his natural attacking style and kept the Australia under control. His scalps today were Aaron Finch, Peter Nevill and John Hastings.

3. Early blows for South Africa:

South African had an awful start to the chase, losing AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock quickly. Nathan Coulter-Nile had an outstanding start after he dismissed AB de Villiers off the first ball of the opening over. It was the first time since 2010 that AB de Villiers was out without opening his account. Coulter-Nile added one more wicket to his tally after managed to get better of Quinton de Kock in his following over. This double strike by the Australian left the Proteas tottering at 17/2.

4. Untimely run outs hurt the chase:

David Miller came in after the departure of Rilee Rossouw. He straightaway charged for a quick single after nudging the ball but Faf du Plessis could not reach the other end in time. Nevill was very quick and caught the opposition skipper short of the ground with an underarm throw. The man responsible for the first run out, ironically, was also involved the next run out. David Wiese lost his wicket at a crucial point of the match after a mix-up with the batsman at strike David Miller. Miller played the ball down the ball and wasn’t aware where the it has gone. However, Wiese came charged through and by the time Miller tried to send him back they were both at the same end. Hastings threw the ball to Steven Smith who gladly knocked the bails off.

5. David Miller turns the heat on:

David Miller ignited the stadium with his aggressive match -winning knock of 53 runs off just 35 balls. His innings was studded with 3 fours and 3 gigantic sixes, two of which went outside the stadium forcing for the umpires to bring new balls. The South Africans looked to be slowly letting the game away. However, Miller played a wonderful knock under pressure and stood there till the end of the match, ensuring that his team reaches home safely.