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The match between South Africa and Australia on Saturday kicked off the main event of T20 World Cup 2021. The first innings of the match could not go as expected as the Australian bowlers made the Proteas struggle for every run. However, the second innings offered the spectators an amazing T20 spectacle, courtesy the comeback performance from South Africa. Amidst all, what stole the show was an Aiden Markram masterclass that stunned everyone.
Knowing that a target of 119 could not trouble the Aussies much, South Africa came to bowl with an attacking intent and the consequences saw the Aussies losing some early wickets. It was a matter of no time when their skipper Steve Smith had to come to bat as the chasing side found itself tottering at 20/2 in 4.3 overs. Smith dug in his heels to help Australia come out of hot waters.
Later, Mitchell Marsh also lost his wicket and Australia got reduced to 38/3. However, after this, Glenn Maxwell stood tall from one end to stitch a valuable 42-run partnership for the fourth wicket. The resilience of the two batters made sure that South Africa needed something special to break the partnership and it came through the catch of Aiden Markram.
On the fifth ball of the 15th over, Smith tried to play a pull shot off Anrich Nortje. The bowler definitely defeated him through pace but the ball was landing somewhere in the mid-wicket region, where no fielder was stationed. However, in a flash, Markram reached near the ball running from long on and put a miraculous dive to catch the ball.
Watch it here:
Australia beat South Africa by 5 wickets
Australia started their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign with a hard-fought 5-wicket win over South Africa. Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade applied the finishing touches to Australia's chase after Steven Smith's 34-ball 35 helped the side's cause. Earlier, Aiden Markram had smashed 40 runs as the Proteas had posted 118/9 in the allotted 20 overs. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa picked up 2 wickets each for Australia in a disciplined bowling performance.