South Africa beat Australia by 67 runs in first ODI, Jansen sets rare record

South Africa beat Australia by 67 runs in the first match of their ongoing ODI series, played at Durban, to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. But the talk after the match was less about the win and more about the performance of allrounder Marco Jansen, who set a rare record in cricket history.

South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first. Jansen smashed an aggressive 75 runs, and with support from the other batters, the team set a big target for Australia. Chasing the total, Australia could not cope with South Africa's tight bowling and kept losing wickets. Australia were eventually bowled out for 230 and lost by 67 runs.

Jansen did not shine with the bat alone. He also took 1 wicket with the ball and held 4 catches in the field. With this all-round performance, Jansen became only the fifth player in the world to achieve this feat in ODI cricket history.

Scoring more than 50 runs, taking at least 1 wicket and holding 4 catches in a single ODI is a feat very few players have managed. By doing this in Durban, Jansen has joined a list of greats that already includes India's Eknath Solkar, West Indies' Clive Lloyd, South Africa's own Lance Klusener and Australia's Chris Lynn. Apart from Jansen, only these four players have scored more than 50 runs, taken at least 1 wicket and held 4 catches in a single ODI.

After Jansen's all-round show, South Africa's bowlers also bowled with discipline to restrict Australia to 230 runs. Spinner Keshav Maharaj was South Africa's most successful bowler in the match, dismissing 4 Australian batters with accurate bowling. South Africa thus outplayed Australia with bat, ball and in the field to win the first ODI by 67 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.