The Australian cricket team, already with their backs on the wall with a heavy defeat at Paarl, took on a spirited South African🍃 side for the second ODI at Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein on Wednesday.
Austꦺralia brought back all-rounder A𒈔shton Agar in place of Josh Hazlewood, while South Africa replaced Temba Bavuma with JJ Smuts.
The buoyant hosts elected to bowl fi🦂rst and backed themselves to chase down the Australian scor♒e. David Warner gave the Aussies a flying start in the power play with his 23-ball 35. Captain Aaron Finch stood tall at the other end with key wickets falling around him.
Lungi Ngidi wreaked havoc with the wickets of Warner, Steve Smith, a✱nd Marnus Labuschagne. Finchꦡ consolidated the innings with his fine knock of 69.
The move to send D’Arcy Short at number five paid rich dividends for Justin Langer and Co. as he stabilized the Australian inning with his maiden🐼 half-century. Short scored a crucial knock of 69 and took the Aussie score above 220, before giving away his wicket to Shamsi.
South African bowlers applied relentless pressure at the b🐠ack end of the innings as the visitors kept losing wickets in their bid to accelerate.
Anrich Nortje ended up with a couple of wiᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚckets, giving away 59 runs. Andile Phehlukwayo looked at his economical best, conceding only 44 and getting Mitchell Marsh out of the equation with💫 a peach of a yorker.
The day belonged to🦩 Ngidi, who ended up with his career-🍃best figures of 6/58 and was later adjudged as the joint ‘Player of Match.’
Proteas impressive bowling performance bowౠls Australia out | AUS: 271
🦩Ngidi took a career best 6-58 as he led the charge with the ball for the Proteas.
Amongst the 6 wickets, he dismissed🍌: Warner, Smith and Labuschagne.
South Africa need 272 to win
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA)
Fastest 🇿🇦 bowlers to reach 50 ODI wickets:
Lungi Ngidi – 26 matches 🎉 👏
Lonwabo Tsotsobe – 27 matches
Imran Tahir – 28 matchesHow many wickets will Ngidi end up with?
— ICC (@ICC)
Coming out to bat, South Africa had to chase down a target of 272. Mitchell Staꦡrc completed his formality by destroying the stumps of Quinton de Kock up front yet again in the first over. The Proteas skipper still has no clue how to play 𒁃Starc’s full-in swinging yorker.
With the early wicket of de Kock, Janneman Malan and JJ Smuts sti🔯tched a valuable partnership of 91 runs. Smuts added 41 to the scoreboard before Zampa sent him back to the pavilion. The match was evenly pois🌌ed with the wicket of Kyle Verreynne, and the score at 103-3.
Then came the centurion from the previous game, Heinrich Klassen (51), and sent all Australian bowlers out of the park.
However, it was Malan who shepherded the South African chase with his maiden ODI century💟. Malan took his side across the finishing line, with his poignant knock of 129 off 139 deliveries, which consisted of seven bওoundaries and four maximums.
MALAN MILESTONE | 🇿🇦 227-4
CHEERS all around Mangaung Oval
Helmet off, arms raised aloft
He raises his bat for a maiden ODI🎀 TON 💯 in the colors of S𒐪outh Africa
Nothing short of amazing 👏👏
Congratulations young lad, well play💫ed &a🌠mp; deserved
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA)
💯 for Janneman Malan! 🎉
His first international century 👏
— ICC (@ICC)
Australian bowlers desperately tried to take the match down to the wire with 56 needed off the last seven overs. However, David Miller, in support of Malan at the other end, provided the finishing blow with his unbeaten knock of 37 off just 29 deliveries, ꦜat a strike rate of 127.
For his epic knock, Malan was also adjudged as the ‘Player of the Match’ along with Ngidi as South Africa clinched a much-needed 2-0 win, also the thr𒀰ee-match ODI series. It is the first time in 12 months that꧅ South Africa managed to win a series at home.
Career best 6-58 | career best 129*
That's that
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA)
The chase of 272 runs was also the best at Bloemfontein by any team in ODIs, surpassing England’s 263 against South Africa in 1996. Further, South Africa continued their dominatio🃏n over Australia in ODI cricket off-late, by winning their last 10 out of 11 games played against them.
The six-wicket win was also South Africa’s 50th win against Australia, which is now the joint-m🤪ost for them against any𒁃 team, along with Pakistan. With the series done and dusted by a 2-0 scoreline, the final match of the series will be played at Potchefstroom on Saturday.
1️⃣ A series clinching victory ✅
2️⃣ 16th ODI win at the Mangaung Oval✅And now for the big one:
3️⃣ 50th win for South Africa in ODI's against Australia.
That's that 🔥
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA)
