South Africa’s 22-year-old batting star Dewald Brevis sparkled Darwin’s Marrara Oval on Tuesday night, smashing an unbeaten century to hand his team a dominant 53-run victory over Australia in the second T20 International.
The young sensation, hailed as one of South Africa’s most promising talents, tore into the Australian attack with an unbeaten 125 off just 56 balls, peppered with 12 boundaries and eight towering sixes.
His knock propelled the visitors to a formidable 7-218. In reply, Australia faltered and were restricted to 165, much to the delight of a lively near-capacity crowd.
Brevis’ innings not only sealed the victory but also etched his name into the record books as the highest individual scorer for South Africa in T20 internationals, surpassing Faf du Plessis’ 119 set a decade ago. His 41-ball hundred was the second-fastest by a South African in the format, and it was his maiden international century, having previously crossed fifty only once in two Tests and posting a best of 41 in eight T20Is.
“I think that’s just my natural way of hitting,” Brevis said after scoring 96 of his runs in boundaries. “I’ve hit 1000s of balls, and I just want to go out there, enjoy it and have fun. Yeah, just watch it (the ball). And then if it’s there, it happens.”
Brevis dominated a blistering 126-run stand in just 9.3 overs with Tristan Stubbs, who played the supporting role with 31 off 22 balls. The partnership reached the 100-run mark in just 44 deliveries, with Stubbs contributing only 16 to that milestone.
Reflecting on his achievement, Brevis said, “Just when I reached that century, the most important thing for me it wasn’t me. It’s all God. I give it all to him, all the glory, and he blessed me with a talent to play like that. That’s the first person I gave all the glory to. It was fun to just be in that moment. It was a special moment.”
The innings could have ended earlier when Brevis was on 56, but substitute fielder Matt Kuhnemann misjudged a catch at long-on, the ball sailing over the rope for six. Brevis made the most of the reprieve, taking Glenn Maxwell for 24 runs in one over, including three sixes.
South Africa’s dominant performance was a sharp turnaround from the opening match, where they fell short in a chase of 178, managing only 9-161 to lose by 17 runs.
Australia’s batting, apart from Tim David, struggled again. David followed up his 83 from 52 balls in the first game with a rapid 50 from 24 balls, despite injuring his shoulder earlier in the match. Alex Carey chipped in with 26 off 18 balls after being drafted in as a late replacement for Josh Inglis, who was unwell.
Mitch Owen endured another forgettable outing, surviving an early yorker scare before being hit on the helmet grille by Kagiso Rabada. He was eventually bowled by Kwena Maphaka for eight off 13 balls, as Australia’s nine-match winning streak in T20s came to an abrupt end.
The series now stands level at 1-1, with the decider set for Saturday in Cairns before the teams move into a three-match ODI contest.
