The South African bowlers staged a spirited performance after coming to defend a paltry total in their opening Men's T20 World Cup 2021 fixture, against Australia at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. It was not enough: they ended up losing by five wickets.
Defending 119, Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada gave South Africa the start they wanted, dismissing Aaron Finch and David Warner (14) inside five overs. Mitchell Marsh and Steven Smith struggled to get going against the disciplined South African bowling unit, led by Nortje.
They kept the run rate in check, and Marsh bit the dust in the eighth over. Smith and Glenn Maxwell then stitched 42 in 46 balls to help Australia regain the momentum before Nortje returned in the 15th over to get Smith.
The South African fielders provided superb support. All four catches in the Australian innings were treats for sore eyes. In the next over, Maxwell missed an attempted reverse sweep, and lost his stumps to Tabraiz Shamsi. Australia were left reeling on 81/5 in 15.2 overs, requiring 38 in 28 balls.
Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade (15* in 10 balls) then brought them back into the game. Australia needed 18 off the final two overs, with five wickets in hand. In the penultimate over, Nortje conceded 10, leaving Dwaine Pretorius to defend eight in the final over. Stoinis took two runs off the first ball, and hit the next straight down the ground for four. Pretorius responded with a dot, but Stoinis (24* in 16) sealed the match next ball with a four through deep mid wicket. He and Wade added an unbroken 40 in 26 balls.
Earlier, South Africa lost their top three – Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen – inside the Powerplay after being put in. They started brightly with Bavuma smashing Mitchell Starc two glorious fours in the first over, but never really recovered after those setbacks.
After Starc’s expensive opening over, Finch brought on Glenn Maxwell from the other end. The move paid off, as Maxwell cleaned up Bavuma with a quicker ball. Josh Hazlewood had his share of the pie after that, removing the in-form van der Dussen and de Kock in successive overs. South Africa were down to 23/3 in 4.1 overs.
Just when South Africa looked to rebuild the innings, Pat Cummins broke the 23-run stand between Heinrich Klaasen and Aiden Markram. Klaasen fell for a run-a-ball 13, holing out to Smith in the eighth over off Cummins. Markram kept going, adding 34 with David Miller, but they again lost a wicket at a crucial juncture.
The situation became worse for South Africa after Miller’s departure. They slipped from 80/4 to 83/7, courtesy Adam Zampa’s double strike in the 14th over and a disastrous run out.
Markram (40) eventually ran out of partners, and himself failed to remain at the crease till the end. Starc got him in the 18th over. At No. 9, Rabada scored an unbeaten 19 off 23 balls, including a six and a four, to take South Africa to 118/9.
All five Australian bowlers picked up at least a wicket. Hazlewood (4-1-19-2), Cummins (1-17) and Zampa were particularly impressive, conceding less than six an over.
South Africa will next play against West Indies in Dubai on 26 October, while Australia will take on Sri Lanka at the same venue 48 hours after that fixture.
Brief scores: South Africa 118/9 (Aiden Markram 40; Josh Hazlewood 2-19) lost to Australia 121/5 in 19.4 overs (Steven Smith 35; Anrich Nortje 2-21) by 5 wickets and 2 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Josh Hazlewood.