Lahore (Sports Desk) — South Africa defeated Australia by 67 runs in the first ODI despite the absence of key fast bowlers.
Batting first in Durban, South Africa scored 297 for eight. Matthew Breetzke struck a brilliant century, while Marco Jansen played an aggressive innings of 75 and formed an important 107-run partnership with him. Breetzke also became the batsman to score the most runs in his first 14 ODI innings.
Chasing the target, Australia made a strong start through aggressive batting from Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head, reaching 90 runs in the first 10 overs. However, the spin bowling of Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin changed the course of the match.
The two spinners took six wickets between them, while Jansen and other South African bowlers also claimed crucial wickets at important moments. Australia lost its final nine wickets for 101 runs and was bowled out for 232.