Australia Beat South Africa By 5 Wickets In A Low Scoring Thriller

Australia held their nerves to defeat South Africa by five wickets in a tense run chase in the 13th match of the T20 World Cup on Saturday.

Chasing a modest total of 119, Australia was in a spot of bother in the powerplay as they lost both their openers - Aaron Finch and David Warner - early and only managed 28 runs. Mitchell Marsh, too, couldn't contribute much and Australia were left on 38/3 in 7.5 overs. 

However, a 42-run partnership between Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell revived the run chase. Smith scored 35 off 34 while Maxwell hit 18 in 21 balls before Tabraiz Shamsi and Anrich Nortje turned things around in the space of three balls, removing both set batters. 

Mathew Wade and Marcus Stoinis made sure no more wickets were lost as they added 40 runs in 26 balls to finish things off and start Australia's campaign with a win. 

Earlier, some sloppy batting from South Africans and tight bowling from Aussie bowlers restricted Proteas for 118/9. Aiden Markram top-scored with 40 off 36 balls while rest of the batters couldn't cross the 20-run mark. 

Josh Hazlewood, Adam Zampa, and Mitchell Starc got two wickets each while Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins got one each. 

Brief Scorecard: 

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021

South Africa - 118/9 (Aiden Markram - 40; Adam Zampa - 2/21)
Australia - 121/5 in 19.4 overs (Anrich Nortje - 2/21)