SA beat Oz again, now in T20-turned-T10

Gold Coast, November 17

South African bowling once again dominated Australian batting as the tourists won their one-off Twenty20 International, turned into a T10 due to rain, by 21 runs on Saturday.

Carrara Oval’s debut as an international venue looked under threat when a violent storm brought torrential rain to the Queensland coast early in the evening. The match did finally get underway after a delay of nearly two hours, and it was reduced to 10 overs a side. South Africa, put in to bat, made a bright start with 18 runs off the three powerplay overs. Skipper Faf du Plessis led the way with 27 off 15 balls but Australia’s bowlers, spearheaded by paceman Nathan Coulter-Nile (2/19), did a good job of containment in the last few overs to restrict the tourists to 108/6.

The fragility of Australia’s batting had been exposed by South Africa’s bowlers in the recent One-day series, which the Proteas won 2-1, and it was quickly evident again when the hosts went out to bat. South Africa all-rounder Chris Morris (2/12) struck twice in three deliveries in the third over to reduce Australia to 27/3, the second wicket with a brilliant yorker which sent Chris Lynn back for 14. Glenn Maxwell fought a defiant rearguard with 38 off 23 balls but Australia never looked like avoiding a fourth straight T20 defeat.

Brief Scores: SA: 108/6 in 10 overs (du Plessis 27, de Kock 22; Tye 2/18); Aus: 87/7 in 10 overs (Maxwell 38; Morris 2/12). — Reuters