All-round Australia hammer South Africa in 2nd T20I: Key stats
Australia hammered South Africa in the second T20I by eight wickets. With this win, the visitors sealed the three-match series 2-0 with one more game to play. South Africa posted a below-par 164/8 in 20 overs. Aiden Markram was the top scorer with 49. Nathan Ellis and Sean Abbott claimed three-fers. In response, Australia chased down the target in style. Here are the stats.
How did the match pan out?
Aussie pacers Jason Behrendorff, Ellis, and Abbott reduced SA to 46/4. Tristan Stubbs and Markram stitched a 51-run stand to steady the ship. Later, Markram added 41 runs with Gerald Coetzee before SA reached 164/8. In response, Australia lost Travis Head early on before Matthew Short and Mitchell Marsh added 100 runs. Marsh's heroics helped Australia win by eight wickets.
Ellis and Abbott make their presence felt
Ellis claimed 3/25 in his seventh T20I. Ellis has scalped 18 wickets at an impressive average of 8.61. He maintains an economy rate of 6.20 in this format. Abbott finished with 3/22 and was Australia's most economical bowler. Playing his 11th T20I for Australia, Abbott has claimed nine wickets at a bowling average of 25.33. Notably, he claimed his career-best figures in T20I cricket.
1,000 runs for Markram
South African captain Markram accomplished a major milestone, racing past 1,000 runs in T20Is. The batter got to the feat with his 27th run. Notably, Markram became the joint-fastest South African to get the mark, having taken just 32 innings. He scored 49 and has raced to 1,022 runs. Markram also became the ninth SA batter to complete 1,000 T20I runs.
Matthew Short registers his maiden T20I half-century
Short proved his mettle in the second T20I against South Africa at the Kingsmead in Durban. The Australian dasher registered his maiden T20I fifty. His 30-ball 66 was studded with seven boundaries and four sixes. In T20s, Short has amassed 1,762 runs in 83 matches at an average over 23. (SR: 137-plus).
Marsh plays a proper captain's knock
Marsh played a proper captain's knock as he slammed consecutive half-centuries in this series and also registered his eighth T20I fifty. His 79*-run knock from 39 deliveries was laced with eight fours and six maximums. Courtesy of his brilliant knock, Marsh has raced to 1,254 runs in 48 T20Is at an average of 33.89. Since 2020, he has amassed 1,082 runs in 37 T20Is.
Marsh scripted this unique record at Durban
As per statistician Kausthub Gudipati, Marsh now owns the top two highest T20I individual scores at Durban. He has been in sensational form at the Kingsmead. Here are the top four T20I individual scores at Durban: 92* - Marsh vs SA, last T20I 79* - Marsh vs SA, today 70 - Yuvraj Singh vs AUS, 2007 68 - Virender Sehwag vs England, 2007
