Australia crush South Africa to take unassailable lead in T20I series

Courtesy of fifties by skipper Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Short, Australia outrightly dominated South Africa to win the second T20I by eight wickets and 31 balls remaining. In the process, the Aussies took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20I series at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday, September 1.

Notably, Marsh made the right call during the toss and put the home side to bat first. The opening pair of Reeza Hendricks and Temba Bavuma got off to a promising start as they raised a 36-run stand. However, Sean Abbott drew first blood as he got the crucial scalp of Bavuma.

Rassie van der Dussen followed suit as he too headed back to the dugout for a paltry six runs. The Proteas’ miseries further compounded as Nathan Ellis’ double whammy deflated their batting innings as Hendricks and Dewald Brevis were sent packing off consecutive deliveries, which reduced their side to 46/4.

Skipper Aiden Markram tried hard to bail his side out of the precarious scenario with his 38-ball 49 which featured three fours and two sixes. However, that seemed about it for the Proteas as they were restricted to a modest 164 runs in their stipulated 20 overs.

While Ellis and Sean Abbott claimed three wickets apiece, Jason Behrendorff picked two. During the run-chase, the Aussies were determined to finish the match quick as they took just 14.5 overs to seal a series win.

Short and skipper Marsh made a mockery of the chase with a disciplined batting performance. With four maximums and seven fours, Short slammed 66 off mere 30 balls at a stellar strike rate of 220.00. Likewise, Marsh too displayed his lethal hitting exploits as he hammered six maximums and eight fours in his unconquered 39-ball 79. With this, the Aussies comfortably won the contest by eight wickets.