Breetzke century and South Africa spinners seal 67-run ODI win over Australia

South Africa beat Australia by 67 runs in the opening one-day international in Durban, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series after dismissing the visitors for 230. Matthew Breetzke's century and contributions from Marco Jansen and the spin attack proved decisive, according to an Australian Associated Press report published by The Guardian.

Watch the highlights:

Asked to bat by Australia's stand-in captain Mitch Marsh, the hosts reached 297-8. Breetzke made 112, while Jansen added 75 from 59 balls to help set a target of 298. Those innings gave South Africa enough runs to withstand a fast Australian start, with the visitors ultimately bowled out in 41.2 overs.

Marsh led the initial response with 60 from 36 deliveries, including three sixes. He and Travis Head put on 90 for the first wicket in only 9.2 overs, giving Australia an opening platform. Head scored 36, but both openers were dismissed before they could turn that start into the longer partnership the chase needed.

Cooper Connolly contributed 38 and Matt Renshaw made 44, yet Australia continued to lose batters who had settled at the crease. Left-arm spinners Maharaj and Bjorn Fortuin finished with figures of 4-20 and 2-34 respectively. Josh Inglis fell attempting a reverse sweep from his eighth delivery, and Australia's final six wickets yielded just 54 runs as South Africa took control.

Jansen also made a significant contribution in the field, taking a running, diving one-handed catch to dismiss Renshaw off Gerald Coetzee. That left Australia 215-7, with the innings ending 15 runs later. The dismissal removed a batter who had made one of Australia's four scores above 30, further reducing the visitors' chances of recovering the chase.

Afterwards, Marsh acknowledged that South Africa had outplayed his team and pointed to Australia's inability to build enough partnerships despite having opportunities. He was captaining in place of the rested Pat Cummins, who is expected to return for Sunday's second match at The Wanderers in Johannesburg. Australia must now respond there to keep the series alive; they have not won a bilateral series against South Africa since 2014, the report said.