Agar hat-trick as Australia rout South Africa by 107 runs

Left-arm spinner Ashton Agar took a hat-trick as Australia crushed
South Africa by 107 runs in the first Twenty20 international at the Wanderers
Stadium on Friday.

Steve
Smith, back in South Africa for the first time since the 2018 ball-tampering
scandal, hit a top score of 45 for Australia, who made 196 for six after being
sent in.

South
Africa made a bad start against the pace of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins
before Agar’s triple strike sent them hurtling to their all-time lowest T20
total of 89.

It
was also the host country’s biggest defeat in the format.

Man
of the match Agar finished with career-best figures of five for 24.

“It
was really exciting, a highlight of my cricketing life,” he said.

But
he gave praise to the fast bowling attack of Mitchell Starc, Kane Richardson
and Pat Cummins who started South Africa’s collapse.

Starc
made a crucial breakthrough when he bowled South African captain and batting
star Quinton de Kock for two with a fast, swinging delivery in the first over
of the home side’s reply.

South
Africa were reeling at 40 for four when Agar came on to bowl.

He
had Faf du Plessis caught at deep cover with his fourth delivery, trapped
Andile Phehlukwayo leg before next ball and Dale Steyn superbly caught at slip
by captain Aaron Finch to complete the hat-trick.

Smith
and Finch (42) set up Australia’s big total with an aggressive second wicket
stand of 80 off 52 balls, benefitting from some loose South African bowling.

“I’m
not quite sure what happened,” said De Kock. “Their energy was there
but the skills weren’t good enough.”

By
contrast Australia’s bowlers were on target immediately.

“The
way we attacked the crease and bowled a really good, aggressive length was
crucial,” said Finch.

“We
pride ourselves on not giving away width with the new ball and making the
batsmen hit good shots off good balls.”

It
was a successful return to South Africa for Smith, who was stripped of the
captaincy and banned for a year after the ‘Sandpaper-gate’ scandal in 2018.

David
Warner, who was also banned for a year for his part in the affair, hit a four
off the first ball of the match but was caught at fine leg off the next
delivery from Steyn, ending a sequence in which he had scored 267 runs and only
been dismissed once in his previous six T20 internationals.

The
win extended Australia’s unbeaten run in the format to nine matches, with eight
wins and one no-result. Their last defeat was in November 2018.

The
second match of the series is at Port Elizabeth on Sunday with the third and
final game in Cape Town on Wednesday.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/sports/2020/02/agar-hat-trick-as-australia-rout-south-africa-by-107-runs/