AUS vs SA, Review | Lungi Ngidi impresses with five-wicket haul as South Africa claim ODI series with game to spare

‌South Africa's stand-in skipper Aiden Markram won the toss and chose to bat first, hoping to recreate the great opening start they gave in the first game of the series. Unfortunately, Markram and Ryan Rickelton could not make the most out of it and were dismissed early in the power play by Xavier Bartlett. While Markram gave a simple catch to Travis Head at mid-wicket for nought, Rickelton struggled at the crease for 17 balls before edging it through to the keeper in the sixth over. The Proteas had only managed 29 in the first seven overs until Tony de Zorzi and Matthew Breetzke scored some crucial runs towards the end to ensure the team finished the fielding restrictions on a decent score of 56/2. Both batters continued to accumulate runs after the initial phase until Adam Zampa broke the 62-run stand by dismissing de Zorzi on 39. Despite the dismissal of the left-handed batter, Breetzke continued the run-flow with some support from Tristan Stubbs, and the Rainbow nations were in a comfortable position at 138/3 at the halfway stage. The partnership continued to cause problems for the Aussies until Nathan Ellis finally got the prize wicket of Breetzke on a score of 88 off 78, and followed it up with the wicket of Dewald Brevis in the next over with two well-directed bumpers. Though the two wickets might have caused a bit of trouble, Stubbs still managed to steady the innings with the score reading 233/5 after 40 overs. With Stubbs and Wiaan Mulder set at the crease, the team seemed to be in a comfortable position to put a big total on the board. However, the Aussies managed to come back in the death with Marnus Labuschagne getting the wickets of Mulder and Senuran Muthusamy, and Stubbs getting caught at long-on off Zampa after a terrific knock of 74 off 87 deliveries. The African nation lost their last five wickets for 44 runs and were bundled out for 277 in 49.1 overs.