South Africa vs Australia, 3rd ODI Stats Review: Markram's Second-Highest Score, Bavuma's Purple Patch

Aiden Markram smashed his second century while openers Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma struck their respective half-centuries as South Africa finally bounced back to defeat Australia by a margin of 111 runs in the third one-day international in Potchefstroom. Seamer Gerald Coetzee picked up figures of 4/50 (6.3) as the Aussies got bundled out for 227 in their pursuit of a 339-run target.

Speaking about how the game panned out, captain Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to field first. de Kock hit 82 off 77 while skipper Bavuma continued his rich vein of form to amass 57 off 62, with the duo sharing a 146-run opening stand. Reeze Hendricks scored 39, but the innings was solidly handled by the Proteas T20 skipper Markram. The right-handed batter mustered 102 off just 74 with the help of nine fours and four maximums.

Marco Jansen struck a quickfire 32 off 16 as the home side posted a huge total of 338/6 on the board. In reply, the centurion from the last match, opener David Warner, looked in fine touch yet again as he slammed 78 off 56, including ten fours and three sixes. Travis Head and Marsh racked up 38 and 29 runs, respectively, but the visitors kept losing wickets at regular intervals. There was no significant contribution from any other player as the Kangaroos lost their way in the run-chase. Spinners Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj picked up two wickets apiece as the Proteas won to keep the series alive. For his magnificent century, Markram grabbed the Player of the Match award.

Meanwhile, here are some of the important stats and numbers from the 3^rd ODI between South Africa and Australia:

102* - Aiden Markram recorded his second-highest score of 102* in ODIs. His highest score of 175 came against the Netherlands in Johannesburg this year.

146 – Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma registered the second-highest opening partnership of 146 for South Africa against Australia in ODIs. Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers shared a 160-run stand against them in the league stage of the 2007 World Cup.

338/6 – South Africa registered the second-highest total of 338/6 in ODIs in Potchefstroom. The highest score of 418/5 was also achieved by the Proteas against Zimbabwe in the year 2006.

0/74 – Josh Hazlewood delivered his joint-most expensive spell of 0/74 in the 50-overs format. He also leaked 74 runs for one wicket against Pakistan in Adelaide in 2017.

48 – David Warner has now smashed the second-most 50-plus scores (48) as an opener for Australia in the ODI format. He surpassed Aaron Finch and Mark Waugh, who had 47 such scores each. Adam Gilchrist tops the chart with 69 scores.

30 – Marcus Stoinis has now gone 30 ODI innings without a half-century. His last fifty came against India in March 2019.

10 – Warner has now slammed ten 50-plus scores against the Proteas, the most by him against an opponent. He has nine such scores against team India.

91.00 – Bavuma has struck 637 runs in just nine innings at an average of 91.00 and a strike rate of 104.42 with three centuries and two fifties in one-day internationals in 2023.

24 – Southpaw Warner has now hit the second-most 50-plus scores (24) for Australia against South Africa across formats. He went past Steve Waugh’s tally of 23 such scores. Ricky Ponting is at the top with 34 scores.

7.83 – Alex Carey has scored just 47 runs in his last six innings at a poor average of 7.83 against South Africa.