2nd T20I: South Africa eye redemption against formidable Australia
What's the story
Australia will take on South Africa in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Marrara Stadium, Darwin on Tuesday. After a dominant 5-0 series victory over West Indies, Australia continued their golden run and thrashed SA in the opener. The Proteas now need to break Australia's nine-T20I winning streak to stay alive in the series. Here is the match preview.
Conditions
A look at the pitch report
As seen in the opening game, the pitch at the Marrara Cricket Ground is a batting-friendly surface with good bounce and a quick outfield. The boundaries aren't too big, which could favor the batters. Chasing teams may have an advantage here as it could be hard to contain runs on this wicket. However, the series opener saw pacers getting assistance with the new ball. Meanwhile, the game will start at 2:45pm IST.
AUS vs SA
Can South Africa bounce back?
Australia's aggressive approach in T20 cricket has been evident since the 2024 T20 World Cup. They continued to attack with the bat in the opener despite losing regular wickets. Tim David smacked a solid 83 after Australia slumped to 75/6. Kwena Maphaka took a record four-wicket haul. The hosts later successfully defended 178 despite a half-century from Ryan Rickelton.
H2H
A look at the head-to-head record
As per ESPNcricinfo, South Africa have eight wins and 18 defeats against Australia in the T20I format. The two sides last played a T20I series in 2023 in South Africa, where the Aussies recorded a 3-0 sweep. Before this series, SA last played an away T20I against Australia in 2018. Overall, the Aussies own six wins and just two defeats against SA in home T20Is.
Team composition
Here are the probable playing XIs
Australia (Probable XI): Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron GreenCameron Green, Tim David, Mitchell Owen, Glenn Maxwell, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood. South Africa (Probable XI): Aiden Markram (c), Ryan Rickelton (wk), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, George Linde, Senuran Muthusamy, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi.
Stats
These players starred in the opener
Tim David hammered a 52-ball 83 (4 fours and 8 sixes) in the opener. Maphaka's 4/20 in the opener are now the best bowling figures for South Africa against Australia in T20I cricket, as per Cricbuzz. Cameron Green hammered a 13-ball 35 in the match. Ryan Rickelton was SA's lone warrior with the bat in the first game, scoring a 55-ball 71. Josh Hazlewood and Ben Dwarshuis recorded three-fers.
Poll
