Cairns, Aug 16 (IANS) South Africa captain Aiden Markram admitted his side fell short by “small margins” after Glenn Maxwell’s unbeaten 62 inspired Australia to a thrilling two-wicket victory in the deciding T20I at Cazalys Stadium on Saturday, sealing the series 2-1 for the hosts

“Good game of cricket, ended up on the wrong side unfortunately. Small margins. Not enough on the board tonight, but we fought well with the ball. Not the way we wanted to end, but still some good things to take from this series,” Markram said after the match

Chasing 173, Australia were reeling at 122/6 when Maxwell took charge, smashing eight fours and two sixes in a 36-ball rescue act. He held his nerve to hit the winning runs off the penultimate delivery, sending the sell-out Cairns crowd into raptures during the venue’s first-ever men’s T20I. Earlier, captain Mitchell Marsh had struck a 37-ball 54, adding 66 with Travis Head to give Australia early momentum.

South Africa looked in control midway, claiming three wickets in 13 balls to put pressure on the chase, but Maxwell’s calculated hitting in the closing overs shifted the momentum back to the hosts.

With the bat, South Africa posted 172/7 after being asked to bat first. Brevis top-scored with 53 off 26 balls, continuing his fine form after a century in the previous game. Despite losing Markram in the first over, Lhuan-dre Pretorius kept the runs flowing in the powerplay with 24, while Brevis’ explosive hitting lifted them to 108/3 by the 11th over, with 200 looking possible.

Markram also praised teammate Dewald Brevis, calling him a “special player” following another standout knock.

“Not many people can do what he (Brevis) does and he is a very special player and works really hard on his game. We kept improving and there is plenty of good for us to take from this series, but never great to lose it.”

But Brevis’ dismissal, miscuing a slower ball from Nathan Ellis to long-on, proved decisive. From that point, Australia pulled things back through Ellis (2/29), Adam Zampa, and tight death bowling, restricting South Africa to just 64 runs in the final nine overs.

–IANS

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