South Africa opened their home international summer with a convincing 67-run victory over Australia in the first ODI at Kingsmead in Durban. After choosing to bat first, the hosts recovered from a difficult start to post 297/8, with Matthew Breetzke and Marco Jansen putting together a crucial century partnership.
Australia began their chase strongly through Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head but lost momentum once South Africa’s spinners entered the attack. Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin combined to take six wickets as Australia lost their final nine wickets for just 101 runs, finishing at 230.
Matthew Breetzke and Marco Jansen rescue South Africa
South Africa’s innings got off to a difficult start after Tony de Zorzi was dismissed for a seven-ball duck and Quinton de Kock fell for 14. Temba Bavuma then struggled to find his rhythm before being dismissed for 30, while Ryan Rickelton made a promising start but departed for 33. With South Africa reduced to 168/5 in the 34th over, Breetzke and Jansen took control of the innings. Breetzke brought up his fifty from 50 balls before Jansen launched an aggressive counterattack, hitting Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa for boundaries and clearing the ropes three times.
Breetzke continued to anchor the innings and reached his second ODI century with a single in the 44th over. He eventually finished with 112, while Jansen matched his career-best ODI score of 75. Their 107-run partnership transformed South Africa’s position and allowed the hosts to finish strongly. South Africa added 54 runs in the final five overs to reach 297/8. Nathan Ellis was Australia’s most successful bowler with three wickets, while Zampa claimed two.
Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head give Australia a flying start
Australia began their chase in emphatic fashion, with Marsh and Head putting together 90 runs inside the first 10 overs. Marsh was particularly aggressive against Jansen, taking 17 runs from one over before reaching his fifty from just 31 balls, including a 104-metre six. Head also accelerated after a quiet start and found boundaries once Corbin Bosch entered the attack. The spinner dismissed Marsh for 60 when the Australian opener drove to Breetzke at cover.
Jansen then returned to dismiss Head for 38, with the opener top-edging a short-of-a-length delivery to deep third. Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly also departed as South Africa gradually pulled Australia back into the contest. Australia were still 188/6 and needed another 110 runs from 20.3 overs, keeping their chances of completing the chase alive. Matt Renshaw and Mitchell Starc briefly threatened to revive those hopes before South Africa tightened the pressure.
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Keshav Maharaj leads South Africa’s decisive bowling effort
The turning point came when Renshaw was dismissed for 31 after pulling a short delivery from Gerald Coetzee towards the boundary, where Jansen produced a spectacular one-handed catch. Australia were then reduced to 215/7 and needed 83 runs from 82 balls. South Africa’s bowlers continued to squeeze the scoring rate, with Maharaj and Fortuin conceding only two runs across two overs before Coetzee delivered a maiden.
Maharaj finished with outstanding figures of 4/20, while Fortuin claimed two wickets. Jansen also contributed with the ball and took four catches during the match, including the crucial dismissal of Renshaw. Australia were eventually bowled out for 230, giving South Africa a 67-run victory and a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. Breetzke’s 112 and Maharaj’s four-wicket haul proved decisive as the hosts began their international summer with a comprehensive win.
Good all-round performance from South Africa to go 1-0 up in this three-match ODI series 🙌#SAvAUS #Cricket pic.twitter.com/GMo6FNJPjr
— CricketTimes.com (@CricketTimesHQ) September 25, 2026
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