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Australia's depth showcased its worth as they registered a three-wicket victory leaving South Africa stunned at the Mangaung Oval in the first ODI match of the five-match series on Thursday.
Marnus Labuschagne coming in at No 9, turned the entire complexion of the game by executing a display that carried the scent of his Test approach as well as the newness of his aggressiveness in the limited over cricket. In the battle of depths, South Africa didn't fail to test Australia's never-ending vastness in a highly engaging ODI match which kept the spectators on the edge of their seats. Yet it was the Proteas who eventually ran out of options as Labuschagne (80*) joined hands with Ashton Agar (48*) to script one of the most unprecedented victories in ODI cricket. While chasing a target of 223, South Africa started asking questions early in the innings as Marco Jansen set up the tone of the game by dismissing David Warner. The left-handed batter's cut shot found the bottom edge and the ball crashed straight into the stumps. He didn't trouble the scorers as he walked back to the dugout for a duck. Travis Head (33) and Mitchell Marsh (17) fought hard to keep the momentum in Australia's favour but Rabada and Ngidi's duo swept their wickets to inflict further damage on them. Cameroon Green's injury meant he had to retire hurt, leaving Josh Inglis to take his place on the field along with Alex Carey. But the lefthand righthand combination failed to work their charm with Rabada and youngster Gerald Coetzee combining to dismiss the batters. Rabada sent Inglis back for 1, while Coetzee dislodged Carey's stumps to end his night for a score of 3. Labuschagne and Ashton Agar took up the mantle from that point both batters stitched carefully an unbeaten 112-run partnership to guide Australia towards victory. Both players with their heads held high walked back unbeaten with scores of 80(93)* and 48(69)* respectively. Earlier in the innings, Temba Bavuma's unbeaten 114 guided South Africa to a competitive total of 222.Marco Jansen's short cameo also turned out to be a major factor in Proteas going past the 200 run-mark. Josh Hazlewood and Marcus Stoinis led the charge for Australia in the first innings as they combined together to take five wickets. Brief Score: South Africa 222 (Temba Bavuma 114*, Marco Jansen 32; Josh Hazlewood 3-41) vs Australia 225-7 (Marnus Labuschagne 80*, Ashton Agar 48*; Gerald Coetzee 2-44). (ANI)
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