HOBART: David Miller and Faf du Plessis plundered big-hitting centuries in a batting masterclass as South Africa beat Australia by 40 runs to win their one-day series and inflict another defeat on Justin Langer’s misfiring side.
The pair shared in a 252-run stand to power the Proteas to 320-5 in the third and final match in Hobart — a record fourth wicket partnership by South Africa against the hosts in Australia.
They came together at 55-3 in the 16th over with Miller swatting 139 for his fifth limited-overs century and skipper du Plessis smashing 125 — his 10th one-day ton.
A composed Shaun Marsh cracked a fighting 106 in the run chase, ably supported by Marcus Stoinis (63) and Alex Carey (42) — an improvement on recent batting displays but still not good enough.
Pace spearheads Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn both took three wickets in controlled and disciplined spells.
The victory handed South Africa their first ODI series win in Australia since 2009 and left Australia with plenty to ponder ahead of India’s arrival this month for a three-format tour.
“I thought we played our best game of cricket (of the tour),” said du Plessis after clinching the series 2-1.
“We challenged ourselves to put in a performance. From a batting point of view we were good, but from a bowling point of view we were excellent.”
Australian captain Aaron Finch praised the partnership between Marsh and Stoinis, but admitted the South African attack was too hot to handle.
“They bowled exceptionally well at the end, credit to them in the last 10 overs,” he said.
“After 35 overs we were in a great position but they took it away at the end.”
Both sides opted for unchanged line-ups after Australia snapped a seven-game losing streak to clinch the second match in Adelaide on Friday by seven runs. South Africa easily won the first in Perth by six wickets.
After winning the toss and putting the visitors into bat, Australia got a dream start with Quinton de Kock out in the third over.
Mitchell Starc did the damage, bowling a perfect line and length, with de Kock getting a tickle on the ball and wicketkeeper Carey taking the catch.
Aiden Markram smashed three sixes, including one huge blow off Marcus Stoinis that went out of the ground and down the street, with a new ball needed, on his way to 32.
But as he looked set for a big score, he flicked a Starc delivery down leg side to Carey, leaving South Africa struggling.
Then hard-hitting Miller joined skipper du Plessis and the scoreboard began racing along.
Du Plessis was dropped on 29 and Miller escaped an lbw dismissal on 41 that was overturned on review.
They made the most of their second lives and began swinging their bats as du Plessis reached his century in 105 balls with 11 fours and one six before falling to Stoinis going for another big hit at the death.
Miller made the landmark in 95 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, and was finally caught at deep midwicket off Josh Hazlewood in the last over.
Australia experimented with Chris Lynn as opener for the run chase, but it spectacularly backfired when Steyn snared him for a golden duck.
Australia’s woes were compounded when Aaron Finch soon followed him back to the pavillon.
It was down to Marsh and Stoinis to open their shoulders and look for boundaries. They put on an impressive 107 before Stoinis was caught at backward point.
Carey supported Marsh as he made his sixth one-day ton in 98 balls, with six fours and four sixes, before he was caught at deep midwicket and hope began to evaporate.
David Miller, Faf du Plessis plunder tons as blistering South Africa beat Australia
David Miller, Faf du Plessis plunder tons as blistering South Africa beat Australia
Own goal enough for Al-Ahli as Matchday 24 win keeps pressure on Al-Nassr
- Al-Ahli eke out 1-0 win over Al-Riyadh to keep pressure on Al-Nassr
- Milan Borjan own goal separated the sides at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
RIYADH: Matchday 24 of the Saudi Pro League kicked off on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the delayed Matchday 10. With the FIFA Arab Cup, World Cup Qualifiers and FIFA World Cup sandwiching the 2025/26 campaign, resting periods have been few and far between outside the international breaks.
With fixtures coming thick and fast, Al-Ahli opted to rest Riyad Mahrez and Enzo Millot for their clash with Al-Riyadh in the capital. Ramadan has further challenged the league schedule, with Matthias Jaissle’s side only arriving in Riyadh at 5:30pm — just hours before kick-off.
With their previous outing against Damac still dominating conversation, Jaissle was keen to ensure his players did not fall into the same trap — namely, being caught off guard by an opponent’s unexpectedly proactive style.
To his relief, Al-Ahli were largely in control this time. Yet the absence of Mahrez limited their creative spark. Relying heavily on Wenderson Galeno down the left, Al-Riyadh did well to crowd the Brazilian and deny him space to operate.
The bane of any expansive side is a compact 5-4-1, and that is precisely how Al-Riyadh’s recently appointed Brazilian manager Mauricio Dulac set his team up. A long-time assistant to former Al-Riyadh coach Odair Hellmann, this marks Dulac’s first managerial role.
Al-Ahli’s attacking routes were severely restricted throughout the first half. Al-Riyadh denied them the opportunity to press high, Mahrez’s trademark diagonals were absent, and finding Ivan Toney in the six-yard box proved a difficult task.
On the rare occasions the visitors broke the defensive line, Milan Borjan stood firm in goal — there was no getting past the Canadian.
That was until first-half stoppage time. Al-Ahli had one more weapon in their arsenal: set-pieces. A lofted delivery from Galeno’s free-kick met the head of Roger Ibañez, who nodded the ball towards goal. Borjan pushed it away, but it was too late — the ball crossed the line.
VAR intervened within seconds. Ibañez was a shoulder offside, and the opener was chalked off. It was a notable twist, particulary as the simultaneous fixture between Al-Fateh and Damac in Al-Ahsa featured a celebration aimed squarely at Al-Ahli and VAR.
Earlier in the week, Damac equalised late against Al-Ahli via Yakou Méïté, only for the goal to be overturned. Méïté reacted angrily and lashed out at referees, but Al-Ahli escaped with the three points. Méïté followed up with a goal against Al-Fateh, and celebrated by mimicking the referee’s VAR signal.
Back in Riyadh, Al-Ahli returned for the second half with renewed intensity. Zakaria Hawsawi grew more adventurous from left-back, threading lofted balls over the Al-Riyadh defence.
In the 53rd minute, he found Toney behind the last defender, but the Englishman’s volley was adeptly saved by Borjan. Five minutes later, Galeno latched onto Hawsawi’s cross and thought he had broken the deadlock — only for the linesman’s flag to rise once again.
Al-Ahli pushed, but as time ticked away, it seemed the coveted winner would elude them. However, once again, set pieces proved decisive.
In the 75th minute, a corner from Saleh Abu Al-Shamat was parried by Borjan, only for his effort to be bundled into his own net, sending the travelling supporters into a frenzy.
After last week’s scare, Al-Ahli knew they had to finish the job. Cue Ibañez, who surged forward from deep before slipping the ball through to Toney to seal the game with what would have been his 24th goal of the season. The run itself deserved a goal, but Toney was flagged inches offside.
Despite another difficult outing, Al-Ahli did enough to secure a clean sheet and grind out a 1-0 victory to move top on 59 points — one ahead of Al-Nassr, who are yet to play this weekend.
Elsewhere, Méïté’s equaliser was later cancelled out by a 77th-minute Mourad Batna penalty, in a match that saw fans commemorate him for surpassing 100 goal contributions with Al-Fateh.
Batna had earlier missed from the spot to the frustation of the home fans, but Al-Fateh’s undefeated streak against Damac at home remains intact as the encounter ended 1-1.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Hazem hosting Al-Ettifaq, Al-Ittihad welcoming Al-Khaleej, and one of Riyadh’s top derbies in Al-Shabab and Al-Hilal. All games kick-off at 10:00pm, in the league’s unified Ramadan schedule.
