Tim David and Josh Hazlewood combined to drive Australia to a 17-run win over South Africa in the T20I series opener in Darwin, as the hosts extended their record to a ninth straight T20I victory. David’s 52-ball 83, featuring eight sixes, lifted Australia to 178 after early damage, before Hazlewood’s 3-26 and late support from Adam Zampa (2-33) ensured South Africa finished on 161/9.
The result marked Australia’s longest winning streak in T20Is, surpassing the previous run of eight wins recorded between February 2024 and June 2024. It also underlined Australia’s ability to recover from top-order collapse and still defend a total against a chase that stayed alive deep into the final over.
David rescues Australia after chaotic PowerPlay
Australia’s innings began with Mitchell Marsh launching a six over extra cover off Lungi Ngidi, but the early momentum quickly turned into a chaotic PowerPlay. Despite racing to 71 runs, Australia lost four wickets in the first six overs, leaving the middle order with significant rebuilding to do.
Kagiso Rabada struck early to remove Travis Head for 2, preventing the opening pair from settling beyond the second over. George Linde then dismissed Josh Inglis for a first-ball duck, and Marsh was gone by the start of the fourth over. Cameron Green and David counterpunched while the fielding restrictions were still on: Green hit two fours and a six off Linde in the third over, while David took on Rabada, including a straight six described as disdainful. Green’s aggressive cameo ended in the sixth over when he fell for a 13-ball 35.
South Africa’s 19-year-old pacer Kwena Maphaka then made a major impact in the middle phase. He struck in his first over to push Australia to 73/5, and the slide continued when Glenn Maxwell holed out to sweeper cover off Senuran Muthusamy, making it 75/6 in the eighth over.
David, however, remained undeterred. He and Ben Dwarshuis took Australia to 88/6 at the halfway stage, then added 59 runs across a seven-over stand in which Dwarshuis contributed 17. During that partnership, David launched Muthusamy onto the roof to take Australia past 100 in the 12th over and reached his seventh T20I fifty.
Maphaka returned in the 15th to break the stand by removing Dwarshuis, and Muthusamy nearly accounted for David as well, only for Tristan Stubbs to spill a catch. David punished those missed chances at the death with more six-hitting. Rabada thought he had finally halted David, but a no-ball was called on a catch in the deep. Maphaka eventually had the final say, getting David caught in the deep for a standout 83, and in the same over dismissed Adam Zampa to complete figures of 4 for 20 in four overs. Australia’s final over added 12 more, taking them to 178 in 20 overs.
Hazlewood’s burst swings chase as Rickelton fights on
South Africa’s chase began with Aiden Markram flashing early intent, hitting three fours before driving Hazlewood straight to Green at cover in the first over. The visitors also chased quick boundaries in the PowerPlay through Lhuan Dre-Pretorius and Ryan Rickelton, but lost wickets at key moments: Dre-Pretorius fell in the fifth over and Dewald Brewis was dismissed by Dwarshuis in the sixth. South Africa’s PowerPlay ended at 48/3, behind Australia’s early scoring rate.
Rickelton and Stubbs then rebuilt through the middle overs, as Australia tried to squeeze the chase with spin. South Africa reached 78/3 after 10 overs, still requiring 101 from the final 10. From 85/3 in the 11th, Stubbs attempted to shift the momentum, striking boundaries off Nathan Ellis and then taking on Zampa, while Rickelton picked up runs off Maxwell in between.
With 60 needed from 36 balls, Marsh brought Hazlewood back, and the seamer’s double-wicket over proved decisive. Hazlewood ended Stubbs’s resistance and removed George Linde, restoring Australia’s control. Zampa followed with a two-wicket over of his own, dismissing Corbin Bosch and Muthusamy to leave South Africa 123/7 after 16 overs, needing 56 from 24.
Rickelton refused to let the chase die, reaching his fifty and keeping South Africa in the contest. He took 16 runs from Ellis in the penultimate over to reduce the target to 21 off the last six balls. Dwarshuis began the final over with a well-disguised slower ball for a dot, before Maxwell’s boundary-line work helped remove Rickelton for 71 and effectively end the chase. Dwarshuis then claimed his third wicket by cleaning up Rabada on the last ball, sealing Australia’s 17-run win.
Australia finished with 178 (David 83, Green 35) and South Africa with 161/9 (Rickelton 71), with Hazlewood’s 3-26 and Zampa’s 2-33 ensuring David’s rescue act translated into a series-opening victory.
