A clinical bowling show by Nathan Ellis and Sean Abbott, followed by a blistering fifty from Matthew Short and ruthless power-hitting from Mitchell Marsh (76 off 39 balls), helped Australia beat South Africa by 8 wickets in the second T20I at Kingsmead, Durban, South Africa. With this win, Australia leads the series 2-0.
Australia won the toss and elected to bowl first. South Africa got off to a brisk start, with Temba Bavuma smashing 35 off 17 before being dismissed by Sean Abbott. Nathan Ellis then joined the attack and both bowlers picked up three wickets, leaving South Africa at 4-46 at the end of the power play.
Tristan Stubbs and Aiden Markram rescued South Africa with a 51-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Stubbs was dismissed by Behrendorff for 27, but Markram continued to bat well and scored 49 runs before being dismissed by Abbott. Lungi Ngidi came in at number 8 and hit a quick 13 runs to help South Africa post 164-8 in 20 overs. Nathan Ellis and Sean Abbott picked three wickets each.
In response to South Africa’s 164, Lizaad Williams drew first blood for the Proteas by picking up Travis Head for 18 runs. Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Short put together a 100-run partnership for the second wicket. Short brought up his maiden half-century in T20Is before being dismissed by Tabraiz Shamsi. Marsh smashed 76 off 39 balls and remained unbeaten, helping Australia to chase down the target in 14.5 overs. Australia won by 8 wickets with 31 balls remaining. Sean Abbott was awarded the Player of the Match for his spell of 3/22. With this win, Australia lead the series 2-0.
Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from the 2nd T20I between South Africa and Australia:
1022-Aiden Markram completed 1000 T20I runs
3/25 – Nathan Ellis’ 3/25 is his third best bowling figures in T20Is. Ellis’ best bowling figures in T20I are 4/28 against Pakistan in 2022, and his second best is 3/20 against England in 2022.
3/22 – Sean Abbott recorded his best bowling figures in T20Is as 3/22. His previous best bowling figures were 2/14 against Pakistan in 2019.
32 – Aiden Markram completed 1000 runs in 32 innings, making him the joint-fastest South African batter to reach the milestone. He is joined by Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen, who also reached 1000 runs in 32 innings. Hashim Amla and Reeza Hendricks are next on the list, with 37 innings each, followed by Quinton de Kock with 38 innings.
106 – Mitchell Marsh Completed 100 fours in T20 internationals
53 – Mitchell Marsh completed 50 maximums in the T20I format
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