Marcus Stoinis, left, and Matthew Wade of Australia celebrate their Cricket Twenty20 World Cup win against South Africa in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, October 23, 2021.
Australia faced some worrying moments before thrashing South Africa by five wickets following stellar performances from their bowlers in an ICC T20 World Cup match here on Saturday.
Eight runs were needed in the last over. Marcus Stoinis (24 not out) hit two crucial fours off Dwayne Pretorius and completed the job with two balls to spare. This happened when Australia were making 81 for five in the 16th over.
Defending a modest target of 119, South Africa got the start they were looking for when Enrique Nortje (2/21) dismissed the opposition captain Aaron Finch For naught in the second over of the innings. Finch went for a drive but could not center it as the ball took an upper edge and flew towards the third man area.
fell from him IPL The franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad recently found their form in the second leg of the league with David Warner (14) hitting three fours but Kagiso Rabada When the batsman cut one in the air Heinrich Klasseny To complete the catch at backward point.
Mitchell Marsh fell for 11 as South Africa left Australia struggling for 38 for three in the eighth over. a partnership between Steve Smith (35) and Glen Maxwell (18) But their 42-run stand for the fourth wicket came to an end when the former was sensationally caught in the deep by a sprinter eden markram.
Smith pulled a short ball, but Markram came a long way before diving fully to his right to stun everyone. left arm chinaman bowler Tabrez Shamsi Then cast Maxwell and put Australia on a pitch that was not really conducive to playing wide strokes.
Matthew Wade (15 not out) released the pressure with two fours off Rabada, reducing the equation to 25 off 18 balls.
Earlier, Australia’s bowlers restricted South Africa’s top and middle order batting line-up to 118 for nine. On a pitch where the ball hit the bat late, Josh Hazlewood 2/19), adam zampa (2/21) and Mitchell Starc (2/33) did the most damage, even as Aiden Markram hit 40 off 36 balls.
Had it not been for Kagiso Rabada’s 19, which included a one-handed six from Starc in the final over, South Africa would have got less. Captain Temba Bavuma got South Africa off to a good start in a productive first over with two lovely boundaries through the off side.
However, Glenn Maxwell had other ideas as the star all-rounder compensated for Mitchell Starc’s expensive opening over with the dismissal of in-form Bavuma (12), which was bowled by a delivery that refused to be played by the batsman. After doing it it was very less. Front leg, something that could have saved him.
Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood stunned Rassie van der Dussen (2) with a peach of a ball that landed just outside the channel before taking a lead to complete a simple catch for wicketkeeper Matthew Wade.
One of the veteran stars of South Africa, opener quinton de kock Maxwell is pulled over mid-on for a boundary, but on the first ball of the next over, the wicketkeeper-batsman slams Hazlewood over his stumps to play a paddle scoop. The outing looked bizarre when de Kock looked to lob the ball to hit the stumps.
After taking two early wickets, Hazlewood conceded not a single run in the next five balls, leaving South Africa in trouble at 23 for three.
Thanks to an excellent boundary through mid-off by Aiden Markram, the Proteas added seven runs in the sixth over to end the power play at 29 for three.
Australia could not have asked for more and after Heinrich Klaasen hit two boundaries on either side of the wicket, they tasted yet another success when Pat Cummins The batsman was caught at backward point after a leading edge.
Meanwhile, Maxwell came back to fulfill his quota of four overs and conceded just 24 runs for Bavuma’s big wicket. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa struck twice, including taking the wicket of David Miller in the 14th over, leaving South Africa for 82 for six, which later went haywire. Keshav Maharaj Was run out after a terrible mix.
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