AI Simulation, SA-C vs AUS-C | AB de Villiers leads from front to help SA Champs beat Australia Champs by 5 wickets

Pitch and Weather

It was a sunny day at Headingly in Leeds, with a few clouds in the second half of the game. It provided a game without any rain threat throughout the entire course of 40 overs.

The surface of the Headingley offered a consistent bounce, with some grip for spinners in the second half of the game. It was an easy task for the batters in the first innings.

Toss

Australia Champions won the toss and decided to bat first.

Lineups

SA-C XI: Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Henry Davids, Sarel Erwee, JP Duminy, Jacques Rudolph, Morne van Wyk (WK), Aaron Phangiso, Wayne Parnell, Chris Morris, Hardus Viljoen

AUS-C XI: Chris Lynn, Shaun Marsh, D’Arcy Short, Ben Dunk (WK), Callum Ferguson, Dan Christian, Ben Cutting, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Brett Lee (C), Peter Siddle, Steve O’Keefe

Match Report

Australia Champions had a quick, fiery opening start of 47 runs in just 5.2 overs, by the opening pair of Chris Lynn and Shaun Marsh, playing the knocks of 36 and 28 runs each. It ended when Amla caught him off Chris Morris. Later, Short fell prey to Phangiso in the eighth over, when the Aussies had scored 64 runs. Later, in the end, Dan Christian also contributed with an 18-ball 31, hitting three fours and two sixes. On the back of these knocks, Australia Champions posted 164/8 in the allotted 20 overs. Morris shone with the ball, claiming 3 wickets for just 24 runs in four overs, alongside Phangiso’s 2/27.

While chasing the target, the opening pair of Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers stitched a blistering 48-run opening stand, before Siddle broke it in the sixth over. Furthermore, De Villiers smashed 58 off just 34 balls. De Villiers’ knock ended when he was caught by D’Arcy Short off Dan Christian on the first ball of the 14th over. His knock was followed by Duminy’s unbeaten 32-run knock. These contributions helped the Proteas chase down the target in 18.3 overs, scoring 165/5. Dan Christian, Steve O’Keefe, and Brett Lee claimed a wicket each, but their contributions couldn’t help Australia restrict the South Africa champions.

Player of the Match

AB de Villiers won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning 58-run knock off 34 balls under pressure during the run chase for the South Africa Champions.

Scorecard