Thanks to a brilliant maiden century by Janneman Malan, South Africa defeated Australia by 6 wickets in the 2nd ODI match played at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein on Wednesday.
Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to bat first. David Warner and Aaron Finch started off to a flying start taking on South African opening bowlers. Lungi Ngidi got the breakthrough for the hosts dismissing dangerous Warner who spooned it to Malan at covers. Australian openers added 50 runs in 6.3 overs. Aaron Finch looked in complete control and put pressure on South African bowlers. At the end of 10 overs, Australia raced to 73 for 1.
After the power play overs, Lungi Ngidi dismissed Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne off successive deliveries to put Australia under pressure at 81 for 3. Captain Aaron Finch and Darcy Short steadied the innings with some solid stroke play. Finch was dropped by leg slip while Short was dropped by Phehulukwayo on his own bowling.
Australian captain reached his fifty with a six off 70 balls. Short also looked impressive with his stroke play to complete his half-century off 65 balls. As things looked dangerous for South Africa, Nortje dismissed Finch for 69. Finch and Short added 77 runs for the 4th wicket.
Mitchell Marsh came to the crease and rotated the strike well along with hitting occasional boundaries. Shamsi got a breakthrough dismissing Short for 69. Short and Marsh added 66 runs for the 5th wicket. Lungi Ngidi produced magic in the death overs dismissing Carey, Agar and Pat Cummins. Phehulukwayo got rid of Mitchell Marsh with a brilliant yorker. Anrich Nortje dismissed Mitchell Starc off the final ball to bowl out Australia for 271.
Chasing 272 runs to win, it was not an ideal start as Mitchell Starc produced a beauty to dismiss South Africa captain Quinton de Kock for 0. Jon Jon Smuts and Janneman Malan looked cautious with their stroke play. Smuts was given out by the umpire, but Cummins had overstepped. At the end of 10 overs, South Africa were 42 for 1.
After the power play overs, Malan and JJ Smuts kept the scoreboard ticking with singles and hitting occasional boundaries. Adam Zampa struck for Australia dismissing Smuts for 41. Smuts and Malan added 91 runs for the 2nd wicket. Malan looked impressive with his stroke play to reach his fifty off 68 balls. Kyle Verreynne was dismissed cheaply for 3 by Pat Cummins to leave South Africa at 103 for 3. Heinrich Klaasen came to the crease and played the Australian bowlers according to the merit of the ball.
On the other hand, Malan was solid with his defensive technique and put pressure on Australian bowlers with positive stroke play. Klassen was given out by the umpire and on review, the decision was overturned as it hit the helmet. After the reprieve, Klassen showed his class and reached his fifty off 50 balls. After reaching his fifty off, Zampa struck to get rid of Klassen. Klassen and Malan added 81 runs for the 4th wicket.
David Miller came to the crease and looked impressive rotating the strike and hitting boundaries. Malan was superb with his stroke play against top-quality Australian bowling. After being dismissed for 0 in the first match, Malan reached his maiden ODI century off 124 balls. Malan and Miller took on the Australian bowling to put on unbeaten 90 runs for the 5th wicket to lead South Africa a comfortable 6 wicket win.
South Africa 274 for 4 in 48.3 overs ( Janneman Malan 129*, Heinrich Klaasen 51, Adam Zampa 2/48) beat Australia 271 in 50 overs ( Aaron Finch 69, Darcy Short 69, Lungi Ngidi 6/59) by 6 wickets.
Janneman Malan for his unbeaten 129 and Lungi Ngidi 6 for 59, both were awarded the joint match of the match. South Africa sealed the 3-match series. The third ODI will be played at Potchefstroom on 7th March 2020.
