Faf du Plessis’s 79 off 41 took South Africa to 204-7 after South Africa were put in to bat first by Australia in the second T20I, at the Wanderers.
The regular fall of wickets in the middle overs threatened to derail South Africa’s innings and prevent them from setting an imposing target for the Aussies to chase. However, Du Plessis smashed 20 runs (4, 6, 6, 4) from the first four balls of the the final over to take his team to the brink of the 200-mark.
He lost his wicket off the fifth ball, caught in the deep by Glenn Maxwell, before David Wiese hit the last ball for a massive six to take the score to 204.
The top order all got starts, but only Du Plessis and Quinton de Kock (44 off 28) did any real damage up front as they shared a 62-run partnership as South Africa scored at 10 an over during the powerplay.
AB de Villiers fell early for 13 after getting an inside edge on to his stumps off the bowling of John Hastings. De Kock took the attack to Australia with a string of boundaries, but got bowled with a dipping full-toss from James Faulkner.
JP Duminy didn’t hang around too long, but David Miller continued where he left off on Friday with another big hitting display with 33 from 18. Farhaan Behardien and Chris Morris both fell for three trying to go big before Du Plessis and Wiese ensured a strong finish on a good batting track.
