Revitalised South Africa seek elusive series win

The hosts beat Australia in the first ODI by 74 runs, and there were signs in that victory of old problems fading. Throughout this series, including in the T20Is, South Africa have been desperate for Quinton de Kock to be supported with the bat, and in Paarl, Heinrich Klaasen came good with his maiden ODI century, while David Miller and Kyle Verreynne provided the support.

The bowlers impressed as well, with Keshav Maharaj, playing his first ODI since 2018, taking a wicket and containing Australia in the middle overs, along with Andile Phehlukwayo and Tabraiz Shamsi. It validated South Africa’s decision to go with three pacers and two spinners, as the team seemed to have more balance with this combination. It is likely they’ll stick with the same XI for the Bloemfontein ODI.

After the first ODI loss, Steve Smith spoke about how difficult it was facing the Maharaj-Shamsi duo. "I don't think we barely hit a ball on the off-side,” he said. “(Shamsi) just bowled really straight, blocked out that one side and (was) patient. Maharaj bowled some balls that really gripped and spun and a couple skidded on.”

With the series on the line, Australia will want their batsmen to figure out, quickly, how to deal with the spin twins.

What happened last time

South Africa opted to bat, and Klaasen hammered a 114-ball 128* to help them post 291/7, along with Verreynne’s 64-ball 48 and Miller’s 70-ball 64. Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje then took five wickets between them as Australia were bowled out for 217 in 45.1 overs.

What they said

Heinrich Klaasen, South Africa batsman: "It's always good to know that your coach backs you," he said. "We have got a good relationship, which changed in the last couple of months before he came up."

Steve Smith, Australia batsman: "Sometimes, you just get a little bit edgy and feel like you need to take a risk, and unfortunately, whenever we did that, it didn't really come off.”

Conditions

Bleomfontein will be bright and sunny, and the temperatures will peak at 28°C shortly after the game commences at 1pm. The last ODI played here, in 2018, was a low-scoring encounter between South Africa and Zimbabwe, with South Africa posting 198 before shooting out Zimbabwe for 78.