HARARE — Proteas captain AB de Villiers struck an unbeaten 136 as South Africa beat Australia by seven wickets in the second match of their one-day international (ODI) triangular series with Zimbabwe in Harare yesterday.
Set 328 to win, de Villiers led with a sparkling innings of 136 not out to safely guide the Proteas home along with JP Duminy, who finished on an unbeaten 33.
De Villiers shared a 206-run third wicket partnership with Faf du Plessis, who scored 106 runs of his own before being dismissed by Mitchell Starc.
Earlier, the Proteas won the toss and elected to bowl. The decision seemed to have backfired after Australia amassed 327 in their innings, with opener Aaron Finch top-scoring with 102 runs.
However, despite the loss of openers Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla with the Proteas total barely past 50, Du Plessis and De Villiers’ partnership would prove to be decisive as the South Africans cruised home with 21 balls to spare.
Table 1: Australia (5pts, +1,804) 2: South Africa (4pts, +0,489) 3: Zimbabwe (0pts, -3,960) — Supersport
