Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Not really sure what to say. Among all the Asia Cup storylines, whoduve thunk Australia and South Africa would spring a surprise like this?! Anyway, let's hope Cam Green is okay. More updates will come in soon. Firdose Moonda and my co-commentator, Andrew McGlashan, will report that news. Check it out. We'll be back in a couple of days for the second ODI. Ranjith P and K Vairavan have been our scorers. Goodbye from us all.

Mitchell Marsh, Australia captain: Gutsy win, boys are unbelievable. We lost a few wickets early on, showed plenty of intent, which I was happy with, to play without fear. We were lucky with Marnus coming in and taking us over the line. Marnus is the perfect man for that job. He gives it everything regardless of when he's coming, tonight's was a class innings. Four games to go, would be nice to keep winning. We bowled well, used the conditions to out benefit. (On Marnus' WC selection) Luckily, I'm just a stand-in skipper. I don't have to make those decisions.

Marnus Labuschagne, POTM: What a rollercoaster! It's a strange thing. My mum was adamant last night I was playing today. I said, "I'm not in the team." Just got some weird thing that happens around concussions. I've been disappointed with how I've played ODIs in the last 10-12 games. I tried to right some wrongs - certain things to improve against spin and pace. Didn't have the pressure last night of laying in bed and thinking about my batting. Nice that it all came together. Unbelievable partnership with Agar. I was impressed with him staying calm, we waited for South Africa to start searching and open the game up. Selection for the WC is not my job. My job is just to do whatever I can for the team to win. Whatever happens there is out of my control, but I'm happy with the win. Made it special today that my mum hung around even though I wasn't playing. Happy to have my family, support I get here is overwhelmingly.

Well, Temba spoke with a pensive baritone with some pauses to catch his breath and seemed quite serious.

Temba Bavuma, SA captain: Not a high-scoring match you expect here. We were a few runs short but gave ourselves a chance. We lost the ability to create chances, they played well. Marnus coming in as a sub held things together for them. Conversations to be had about our batting and bowling. Interesting day today. Pitch wasn't easy. At night, it started to skid on and play a lot more fluently. During the day, we found it tricky. They bowled well, not allowing cuts or drives. I tried to battle through, found nothing fluent about my innings. It helped batting with guys like Klaasen, Markram who egged me on and made me more aware what the bigger picture was. Marnus took the opportunities he got early on and stabilised. Not the first time he came on as a concussion sub, things worked in their favour. Need to take learnings from today and come out better on Saturday.

8:21pm: How did that happen? What even was that? A chase that seemed nothing beyond the binary of boundary/wicket grew layers in unlikely circumstances, most notably Cameron Green being hit on the head and Marnus Labuschagne coming in as a concussion sub, and finished with a sense of serenity that seemed otherworldly at the start. Kagiso Rabada was fire, Gerald Coetzee was volcano, Marco Jansen was magic and they were collectively putting Australia's aggression to shame. Marsh, Head got starts but couldn't carry on. Inglis, Carey, Stoinis, Abbott were ripped out and the drama in Bloemfontein was all set to fly off the handle. But a hard-to-believe partnership between Marnus and Agar in severely tough circumstances took Australia through.

Aquib Mohammed : "48* is Agar's highest score in an ODI innings."

40.2
4
Markram to Agar, FOUR, Agar does it. 112-run partnership seals the deal for Australia after a helter-skelter start on a tough pitch to go 1-0 up. Wide ball sits up, Agar crunches it through cover. Long-off runs to the right but can't get it
40.1
0
Markram to Agar, no run, Undercuts a length ball outside off, keeps a bit low. Agar tries to chop it, underedges it back onto pad

Might be the final over. Around

END OF OVER:
40 | 3 Runs | AUS: 221/7 (2 runs required from 60 balls, RR: 5.52, RRR: 0.20)

  • Ashton Agar44 (67b)
  • Marnus Labuschagne80 (93b)
  • Keshav Maharaj9-0-38-1
  • Aiden Markram1-0-5-0
39.6
1
Maharaj to Agar, 1 run, Goes back, closes the bat face and drives the length ball to deep midwicket
39.5
0
Maharaj to Agar, no run, Length on off, pushed to the left of cover
39.4
0
Maharaj to Agar, no run, Full ball is driven to the bowler
39.3
0
Maharaj to Agar, no run, Length on fourth, Agar goes square-on and punches to the left of Maharaj
39.2
0
Maharaj to Agar, no run, Full around off, defended to the off side
39.1
2
Maharaj to Agar, 2 runs, Goes back and works the length ball with a horizontal bat to the left of Maharaj, who fumbles. Ball goes towards long-on, the batters pinch another two

Australia tour of South Africa 2023-24 News

Australia 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st1DA WarnerTM Head
2nd37MR MarshTM Head
3rd?TM HeadC Green
3rd18TM HeadJP Inglis
4th0AT CareyTM Head
5th16MP StoinisAT Carey
6th21MP StoinisM Labuschagne
7th20SA AbbottM Labuschagne
8th112AC AgarM Labuschagne