Aiden makes his mark as Proteas spin twins shine in season's first win

For a team that has based its strategy for the World Cup on fast bowling, the Proteas will be extremely grateful for the timely fillip their spinners provided on Tuesday.

A side lacking in confidence, which had lost five matches on the trot to Australia and were getting pounded for the first 10 overs in Potchefstroom, needed Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi to turn the tide. 

Maharaj took 2/37, in addition to running out David Warner, and Shamsi 2/29 as South Africa claimed a 111-run victory to keep alive the series with the two matches remaining. 

Earlier Aiden Markram’s second ODI century had ensured that the Proteas first century stand for the opening wicket in more than a year didn’t go to waste. The hosts scored 338/6, with Markram’s hundred also backed up by half-centuries from Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock.

Markram unleashed some sublime stroke play in the last 10 overs after South Africa had suffered a post-drinks wobble late in their innings. The Proteas had scored just 24 runs in eight overs after the second drinks break with Australia’s accurate fielding — which saw Marnus Labuschagne run out Reeza Hendricks — and fine captaincy by Mitchell Marsh seeing the home team lose three wickets in that period. 

Markram, who’d middled the ball from the moment he’d arrived at the crease, took control with power, timing and lots of style as he laid waste to Australia’s death bowling. As a result SA scored 93 runs in the last eight overs, with Markram going to his hundred off the last ball of the innings, which he straight drove beautifully for four. His unbeaten 102 took just 74 balls and included nine fours and four sixes, and will provide him with some much-needed confidence after he’d got a few starts in the earlier matches but failed to make those into anything substantial. 

His partnership for the sixth wicket with Marco Jansen, who made 32 off 16, and again struck several lusty blows, was worth 63 off only 31 balls and was one of the turning points in the match. Jansen, fell to the catch of the season by Sean Abbott, who dived to his left and took a one handed catch on the boundary.

Bavuma (57) and De Kock (82) had shared a 146-run first wicket partnership which provided the perfect foundation.

Although Australia’s openers didn’t match it in terms of runs, they were far superior in the run rate category as they aggressively took South Africa’s seamers apart. Warner and Travis Head’s first wicket partnership was worth 79 and came off only 48 balls. 

Australia continued to dominate even when Head was out, and the reason for it was clear once Shamsi started to bowl in the 13th over. The Potch pitch was a dry one, and the ball gripped even for the seamers when they tried cutters. Shamsi was excellent in controlling line, length and pace and claimed Marsh as his first wicket, with David Miller, who’d earlier dropped Warner, taking a comfortable catch at long on.

The pressure the two spinners created bore fruit in Shamsi’s fourth over when Warner attempting a quick single, lost his shoe, slipped and was caught short of the crease by direct hit from Maharaj at midwicket for 78.

Shamsi who engaged in more verbal jousting with Marnus Labuschagne, won his mini battle with the Australian batter, deceiving him with a beautiful googly, with De Kock’s smart work behind the stumps delivering him the first of two stumps. 

From 118/1, when Shamsi started bowling, the Australians collapsed and were bowled out for 227 in the 34th over — their last nine wickets lost for just 109 runs. Gerald Coetzee took 4/50

There will still be concern in the Proteas camp about the sloppiness seen from the seamers initially, but Bavuma’s side needed this victory to help restore confidence as they look ahead to the World Cup.