Miller's 142 and Bavuma's century seal South Africa's ODI series win over Australia

David Miller smashed a career-best 142 and captain Temba Bavuma made 103 as South Africa beat Australia by 32 runs in the second one-day international at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Sunday to clinch the series.

It was South Africa’s sixth successive ODI series win over Australia since the 2016/17 season, extending one of the more remarkable runs in modern one-day cricket.

Miller’s day

Sent in to bat for the second time in the series, South Africa found conditions tricky early on. Bavuma and Miller then took charge with a fourth-wicket partnership of 156 from just 135 balls, the captain holding one end while Miller attacked.

The left-handed Miller reached his 142 from only 93 balls, hitting 12 fours and nine sixes. It was the 37-year-old’s eighth ODI century and his fourth against Australia. Their stand carried South Africa to 365 for nine.

“It was an overall good team performance,” Bavuma said at the presentation. “It was tricky batting upfront but we were able to handle that challenge. It was an unbelievable performance by David, then the bowlers did well.”

Australia’s fast start fades

At the Wanderers, where big totals are common, Australia looked well placed in the chase. Captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head put on 130 for the first wicket inside 17 overs, and both went on to make 84.

The turning point came when Marsh was bowled by left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin. From there, Australia lost momentum against South Africa’s three-pronged spin attack. Fortuin, fellow left-armer Keshav Maharaj and off-spinner Aiden Markram each bowled their full 10 overs, and the middle order could not keep up with the rate.

Xavier Bartlett hit a late 50 from 28 balls, but Australia were bowled out for 333.

“It’s really disappointing,” Marsh said. “We haven’t been able to execute in those middle phases, which is a great learning curve for some of our younger guys. But credit to South Africa, who bowled well in those phases.”

A familiar problem

It was the same story as the first match of the series, when Australia also struggled against spin in the middle overs. For South Africa, the success of their spinners on a ground better known for pace and big scores will be encouraging.

Scorecard summary

Team	Score
South Africa	365 for 9 (Miller 142, Bavuma 103)
Australia	333 all out (Marsh 84, Head 84, Bartlett 50)
Result	South Africa won by 32 runs and clinched the series

A busy season for Pakistan

Pakistan’s own cricketers are in action in Japan, where the men’s team, led by Sahibzada Farhan, begin their Asian Games campaign against Hong Kong in the quarter-finals today, after the women’s team won a bronze medal. At home, Test captain Babar Azam has returned to first-class cricket in the President’s Trophy.

Why it matters

Beating Australia is never routine, and six series wins in a row over them show how well South Africa have learned to play Australia in one-day cricket. Miller, at 37, remains one of the most dangerous finishers in the game, while the spinners’ control in the middle overs gives South Africa a template to build on ahead of future ICC events.

This article draws on reporting published by Dawn.