Breetzke Century and Maharaj’s Four-Wicket Haul Power South Africa Past Australia

South Africa launched their home international summer with a commanding 67-run victory over Australia in the first ODI at Kingsmead in Durban. Batting first, the hosts recovered from an uneasy start to post 297 for eight, with a crucial 107-run partnership between Matthew Breetzke and Marco Jansen.

Australia started their chase brightly through Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head, but momentum faded when South Africa introduced their spinners. Keshav Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin claimed six wickets between them, helping restrict Australia to 101 for their final nine wickets as they were bowled out for 230.

Breetzke and Jansen steer South Africa clear

South Africa’s innings began poorly after Tony de Zorzi was dismissed for a seven-ball duck and Quinton de Kock was out for 14. Temba Bavuma made 30, while Ryan Rickelton offered resistance with a promising 33. Reduced to 168/5 in the 34th over, the hosts needed a response, and Breetzke and Jansen took control.

Breetzke reached his half-century from 50 balls before Jansen launched an aggressive counterattack, striking Mitchell Starc and Adam Zampa to the boundary and clearing the ropes three times.

Breetzke remained anchored at the crease and completed his second ODI century with a single in the 44th over. He finished on 112, while Jansen matched his career-best ODI score of 75. Their 107-run stand transformed South Africa’s position, and the hosts added 54 runs in the final five overs to reach 297/8. Nathan Ellis took three wickets for Australia, with Zampa claiming two.

Marsh and Head set a strong chasing pace for Australia

Australia began their chase emphatically, with Marsh and Head adding 90 runs in the opening 10 overs. Marsh was especially destructive against Jansen, scoring 17 runs from one over before reaching his half-century from just 31 balls, including a 104-metre six. Head also accelerated after a quiet start and found the boundary whenever Corbin Bosch bowled.

Breetzke dismissed Marsh for 60 when the Australian opener drove into the covers. Jansen then removed Head for 38 by drawing a top edge from a short-of-a-length ball to deep third. Josh Inglis and Cooper Connolly were also dismissed as South Africa tightened their grip, although Australia remained 188/6 and needed 110 runs from 20.3 overs to keep the chase alive.

Keshav Maharaj delivers the defining bowling performance

The match turned when Matt Renshaw was caught for 31 after pulling a short ball from Gerald Coetzee towards the boundary. Jansen produced a spectacular one-handed catch, and Australia were reduced to 215/7, needing 83 runs from 82 balls. South Africa’s bowlers continued to restrict the scoring rate, with Maharaj and Fortuin conceding just two runs from their two overs before Coetzee completed a maiden.

Maharaj finished with figures of 4/20, while Fortuin claimed two wickets. Jansen also played a valuable part with the ball and took four catches during the match. Australia were eventually dismissed for 230, handing South Africa a 67-run victory and a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series. Breetzke’s century and Maharaj’s four-wicket haul proved decisive as the hosts opened their 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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