After a loss against South Africa by 164 runs in the fourth ODI match, Australia stand-in captain Mitchell Marsh said this was a “tough day” for his team.
A complete South Africa crushed Australia by 164 runs in the fourth ODI after a batting masterclass from Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller and a superb performance from the pace duo of Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi on Friday.
In the post-match presentation, Marsh said: “That’s the definition of a tough day at the office. Klaasen was simply incredible today. It was a hard day. There they put us under a lot of pressure towards the back.”
Marsh also praised Klaasen for playing a spectacular knock of 174 off 83 balls.
“I take my hat off to Heinrich. We were one or two wickets away from putting pressure on them. We couldn’t make that progress. We didn’t have too many options where to go. We would have been happy with 300-350. The ball just travels here and the outfield was lightning. We needed a couple of big partnerships, lost a few wickets early and the game was over. It was great to see Carey get some runs. He is fantastic for our team, he is very important for us,” he added.
Coming into the match, the Proteas were put into bat first by Australia. Quinton de Kock (45 off 64 balls with five fours) and Reeza Hendricks (28 off 34 balls with five fours) formed an opening partnership of 64 runs. After two quick wickets, a 74-run opening between Heinrich Klaasen and Rassie van der Dussen (62 off 65 balls with seven fours and two sixes).
Josh Hazlewood (2/79) was the pick of the bowlers for the Australians. Nathan Ellis, Marcus Stoinis and Michael Neser took a wicket each.
In the pursuit of the 417, Australia was never really a threat. A 72-run partnership between Alex Carey and Tim David (35 off 25 balls) was the high point of the Australian innings. Carey was the only warrior for the visitors, scoring 99 off 77 balls, nine fours and four sixes. Australia conceded 252 runs in 34.5 overs and lost by 164 runs.
Lungi Ngidi (4/51) and Kagiso Rabada (3/41) were chosen by the Proteas players.
Klaasen took home the ‘Man of the Match’ award and the series is tied 2-2, with one more match remaining. (ME TOO)