Sean Abbott starred with the ball while Mitchell Marsh continued his fine run with the bat as Australia thrashed South Africa in the second T20I to wrap up the series on September 1, Friday.
The Aussies won the match by eight wickets and had 31 balls to spare as Marsh remained unbeaten on 79 off 39 balls to score his second consecutive fifty in the series. In the first T20I, Australia had defeated South Africa by a staggering 111 runs.
The second T20I saw some changes in the Australian squad. Tanveer Sangha, who had taken four wickets on debut in the first match, made way for Adam Zampa, who was returning from illness. Jason Behrendorff was also brought into the attack, replacing Spencer Johnson. Despite these changes, Australia’s performance remained strong.
Australia chose to bowl first in the second T20I. South Africa got off to a flyer thanks to a 17-ball 35 from Temba Bavuma. However, his dismissal triggered a batting collapse for the Proteas as they went from 36 for one to 46 for four.
Tristan Stubbs and Aiden Markram rebuilt the innings but the Aussies kept chipping away with timely wickets and the hosts managed to score 164/8 in their 20 overs. Abbott and Nathan Ellis picked up three wickets each.
Australia had a slow start in the run chase and lost Travis Head for 18 before Matt Short and Marsh stitched together a massive 100-run partnership. Short scored 66 off just 30 balls and provided Marsh with the support as Australia chased down the target comfortably.
Marsh said he was proud of the performance from the team after their series win and had special praise reserved for the bowlers.
“It’s great, I’m proud of the boys because a series win in South Africa is hard to come by,” Marsh said at the post-match presentation.
“Tonight the game was set up by the bowlers, they were all fantastic.”
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