Centuries from captain Temba Bavuma and David Miller helped South Africa beat Australia by 32 runs in the second ODI at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday, securing the series with one match still to play.
The victory extended South Africa’s dominance over Australia in ODI series, marking their sixth consecutive series win against the Australians since the 2016/17 season.
Sent in to bat, South Africa posted a formidable 365 for nine, with Bavuma scoring 103 and Miller producing a career-best 142.
The pair put on 156 runs for the fourth wicket from 135 deliveries. Bavuma provided stability at one end, while Miller attacked the Australian bowling, reaching his century off 93 balls with 12 fours and nine sixes.
The innings marked Miller’s eighth ODI century and his fourth against Australia.
“They bring out the best in the guys. It’s good to compete against the best in the world,” Miller said.
Australia made a strong start to their chase, with captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head putting on 130 for the opening wicket inside 17 overs. Both batters scored 84.
However, Australia lost momentum after Marsh was bowled by Bjorn Fortuin, with South Africa’s spinners taking control during the middle overs.
Keshav Maharaj, Fortuin and Aiden Markram each bowled their full 10-over spells as Australia struggled to maintain the required scoring rate.
Late resistance from Xavier Bartlett, who scored 50 off 28 balls, was not enough as Australia were bowled out for 333.
Bavuma praised his team’s all-round performance after the match.
“It was an overall good team performance. It was tricky batting up front, but we were able to handle that challenge. It was an unbelievable performance by David, then the bowlers did well. They held their nerve; we knew they would put us under pressure,” he said.
Marsh said Australia had failed to capitalise on their strong start.
“It’s really disappointing. We haven’t been able to execute in those middle phases, which is a great learning curve for some of our younger guys. But credit to South Africa, who bowled well in those phases,” he said.
The match was also South Africa’s annual “Pink Day” fixture, with the team wearing pink to raise awareness about breast cancer.
Players wore the names of cancer survivors on the backs of their shirts instead of their own names. Miller wore the name of his mother, Jenny.
“She’s been through a lot, and it was nice to represent my mom and everything she’s been through,” Miller said.