South Mackay: South Africa delivered another commanding performance, defeating Australia by 84 runs at the Great Barrier Reef Arena in the second ODI on Friday. Matthew Breetzke scored 88 runs and Tristian Stubbs contributed with 74 runs, leading the Proteas to a total of 277 all out in 49.1 overs. Lungi Ngidi excelled with the ball, taking 5 wickets for 42 runs, as he helped dismiss the Australian side for 193 in 37.4 overs. This victory gives South Africa an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, marking their fifth consecutive ODI win over Australia. With Temba Bavuma managing his hamstring injury, Aiden Markram assumed captaincy and opted to bat first.
Markram was dismissed for a duck by Xavier Bartlett in the second over, followed shortly by Ryan Rickleton, who scored 8 runs before being caught by Inglis. Tony de Zorzi managed 38 runs, providing support to Breetzke before falling to Adam Zampa’s catch. Breetzke and Stubbs built a strong partnership of 89 runs for the fourth wicket, with Breetzke hitting eight fours and two sixes before being caught by Nathan Ellis. Dewald Brevis, who made his ODI debut in the previous match, scored just 1 run before being dismissed by Ellis. Marnus Labuschagne played a crucial role with the ball, taking the wickets of Wiaan Mulder (26) and Senuran Muthusamy (4).
Australia struggled in their chase of 278, losing early wickets as opener Travis Head (6) and Labuschagne (1) were dismissed by Burger and Ndidi in consecutive overs. Mitchell Marsh (18) also fell in the last over of the powerplay. Ndidi completed his five-wicket haul by dismissing Bartlett (8) and Zampa (3), while Muthuswamy took out Ellis (3), securing an 84-run victory for South Africa. Brief Score: South Africa 277/10 in 49.1 overs (Matthew Breetzke 88, Tristian Stubbs 74; Adam Zampa 3-63) beat Australia 193/10 in 37.4 overs (Josh Inglis 87; Lungi Ngidi 5-42) by 84 runs.
