Stats highlight from the final ODI where South Africa made their first 300-plus total against the hosts in Australia.
Shiva Jayaraman11-Nov-2018 A record-breaking stand What looked like it was going to be another low-scoring affair when South Africa were 3 for 55 in the 16th over, turned out into a run fest thanks to a record-breaking 252-run stand for the fourth wicket between South Africa’s captain Faf du Plessis and David Miller. The following are the prominent records created by the pair in this matchESPNcricinfo Ltd 1 This was South Africa’s third-highest stand in ODIs. Miller was the batsman in one of the two stands bigger than this for South Africa: he partnered JP Duminy in an unbeaten 256-run stand against Zimbabwe in 2015. The opening pair of Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock hold the record for the biggest partnership of South Africa in ODIs: they had added an unbroken 282 runs against Bangladesh last year. 2 The highest stand Australia have ever conceded in an ODI. The previous highest partnership against Australia was a 237-run stand between Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya in an ODI in 2003. 3 The third-highest partnership for the fourth wicket in ODIs by any team. They beat the previous South Africa record of 232 set by Darryll Cullinan and Jonty Rhodes against Pakistan in 1996. 4 Only the fifth 250-plus run stand against the host team in ODIs. The highest such stand was also made this year in Bulawayo where Fakhar Zaman and Imam ul Haq added 304 for the opening wicket against Zimbabwe. 5 Du Plessis and Miller together scored 264 runs – the third-most runs scored by a No. 4 and No. 5 in an ODI. The pair contributed 80.2% of South Africa’s final total which is the fourth-highest ever in a completed innings by batsmen at No. 4 and 5. South Africa switch gears, Starc’s worst South Africa’s innings was a tale of two halves in contrast. In their first 25 overs they managed to score just at 3.73 runs an over with only ten boundaries and played out 108 dots. The next 25 overs produced 227 runs at a scoring rate of 9.08 including 30 boundaries.
As many as 174 of those runs came in the last 15 overs – the highest Australia have conceded in these overs in an innings in ODIs since 2001. The previous highest was 173 runs which they conceded against India in Bengaluru in 2013.The last five overs of South Africa’s innings went for 75 runs, 20 of which came in a single over from Australia’s ace bowler Mitchell Starc. This was Starc’s most expensive over in international cricket. The result was that Australia conceded their first 300-plus total to South Africa in ODIs at home. The previous-highest total by the visitors was 6 for 288 which they made in Perth in 2009.
