Australia set South Africa a target of 179 at
Glenn Maxwell might not be the batting whirlwind he once was in T20 cricket, but his commitment on the field has always remained at the highest level. Both things were apparent during Australia’s first T20I against South Africa Marrara Oval in Darwin on Sunday.
Maxwell was out for a paltry one run after being brilliantly set up by Senuran Muthusamy, but he made all the difference in the second innings as he pulled off a stunning catch on the boundary line that turned the match in the hosts’ favour.
AUSA-W
144/8
INDA-W
140/8
KNK
171/10
VSS
195/5
Vijayawada Sunshiners beat Kakinada Kings by 24 runs
BVB
141/3
ROR
139/10
Bhimavaram Bulls beat Royals of Rayalaseema by 7 wickets
AMR
–
TBW
–
SVL
–
KNK
–
PD
152/10
NDS
179/8
North Delhi Strikers won by 27 runs
WDL
156/7
EDR
158/8
East Delhi Riders beat West Delhi Lions by 2 runs
SDS
–
NDT
–
NDS
–
WDL
–
CRO
111/4
CYP
134/4
Cyprus beat Croatia by 23 runs
CRO
103/4
CYP
102/8
Croatia beat Cyprus by 6 wickets
CRO
107/4
CYP
110/2
Cyprus won by 8 wickets
ZGW
–
ZAS
–
ZAS
–
RJM
–
ZGW
–
ZGA
–
ZAS
–
RJM
–
ZGW
–
ZGA
–
KENT
238/8
DURH
239/3
Durham beat Kent by 7 wickets
SOM
250/7
LAN
254/8
Lancashire beat Somerset by 2 wickets
MID
256/5
SUSS
255/9
Middlesex beat Sussex by 5 wickets
DER
341/8
NOT
214/10
Derbyshire beat Nottinghamshire by 127 runs
BB
291/8
NOR
229/10
Birmingham Bears won by 62 runs
GLO
182/3
LEI
285/7
ESS
280/10
WOR
340/9
Worcestershire beat Essex by 60 runs
91YC
70/9
BCC
20/0
Bud Cricket Club beat 91 Yards Club by 10 wickets (D/L) method
NAJC
119/10
GUG
121/7
Guwahati Giants beat Nabajyoti Club by 3 wickets
CCC
–
91YC
–
NVR
–
GUG
–
TCC
117/8
SBSCC
–
NCMI
–
PCR
–
CEC-A
–
RTZ
–
KRMPS
–
GUJCC
–
JOR
47/10
PRK
49/5
Perak beat Johor by 5 wickets
MEL
107/8
PENG
111/4
Penang beat Melaka by 6 wickets
SEL
76/1
KLPR
141/1
Selangor beat Kuala Lumpur by 9 wickets (D/L) method
GBM
–
MGD
–
BNB
–
MYW
–
MWW
96/7
HTW
107/10
Hubli Tigers Women beat Mysore Warriors Women by 11 runs
NPB
196/4
EAE
144/10
NPL Bears beat Eavion Eagles by 52 runs
PAJ
173/8
PMW
197/6
Pupkewitz Motors Wildcats beat Paratus Jets by 24 runs
IRE-W
–
PAK-W
–
WI
–
PAK
31/0
SLGY
163/6
SLGR
165/5
SLC Greens won by 5 wickets
SLGR
–
SLBL
–
AUS
178/10
SA
161/9
Australia beat South Africa by 17 runs
SOB
–
BIP
–
TRR
–
NOS
–
MAO
–
LOS
–
SBW-W
139/7
BIP-W
124/10
Southern Brave Women beat Birmingham Phoenix Women by 15 runs
TRW-W
128/8
NOS-W
129/2
Northern Superchargers Women beat Trent Rockets Women by 8 wickets
MOW-W
–
LSW-W
–
SWE
152/7
FRA
153/8
France beat Sweden by 2 wickets
AUST
106/2
NOR
105/10
Austria won by 8 wickets
With 21 runs needed in five balls, the Proteas had pinned all their hopes on opener Ryan Rickleton who was batting on 71 off 54 balls.
After playing a dot off the first ball of the last over, Rickleton got a back of the length ball from Ben Dwarshius into the night sky.
Maxwell, who was fielding at long-on, waited patiently and kept his eyes on the ball as it hung in the air for a few seconds before pelting towards the boundary ropes.
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Maxwell caught it and fell into the boundary on the follow-through, but flicked the ball back into the field of play within a blink of an eye and caught it back as quickly as he threw it in the air.
Even though Australia were in control of the match, there were few nerves about Rickleton’s presence at the crease as the Proteas were chasing 179.
Australia’s top-order collapsed after Cameron Green’s 35 of 13 balls but were saved by a valiant 83 off 52 balls by Tim David who scored 62 off his runs from smashing four boundaries and eight sixes.
Maxwell was among the others who fell cheaply as his stay at the crease lasted only five balls and most of them going for predictable shots behind the square. Left-arm spinner Muthusamy read Maxwell’s weaknesses perfectly as bowled the ball in the fuller-length and varied his drift to make it tough to score.
He slashed at a wide ball which ballooned off the toe end of his bat as George Linde took a superb diving catch at deep cover.
But he made up for it with the catch of Rickleton which set up a 17-run victory for the Aussies who took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
The second match will be played at the same venue on Tuesday.
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