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'Kangaroos peaking at the right time. We've seen this before' - Fans react to Australia's thumping 111-run victory over South Africa in 1st T20I

Australia registered a crushing 111-run win over South Africa in the first T20I to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

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Australia (Source: Twitter)

Mitchell Marsh's captaincy career got off to a dream start as he led Australia from the front to register a thumping 11-run win over South Africa at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban on Wednesday, August 30. A complete dominant display in both batting and bowling departments saw the visitors take a 1-0 lead in the three-match T20I series.

The Proteas captain won the toss and opted to field first, which went in Australia's favour as they set the tone with a strong batting performance. Marco Jansen gave the home side an early breakthrough with the dismissal of Travis Head in the first over, but skipper Marsh and Matthew Short came out all guns blazing and put the opposition under pressure.

Short went back after a short cameo (20 off 11) after making a 60+ partnership with Marsh for the second wicket. They lost a couple of more wickets in quick succession, but Marsh held firm and only got stronger when Tim David (64 off 28) came to the crease. The duo made a mockery of the SA bowlers as they raised the scoreline to 174-5 from 77-4 before David was dismissed in the 16th over. Marsh remained unbeaten on 92 off 49 and helped Australia to set a target of 227.

Nice to start off a 3-match series with a win: Mitchell Marsh 

Chasing a mammoth score, South Africa lost Temba Bavum in the very first over, but Reeza Hendricks and Rassie van der Dussen made a decent partnership for the second wicket before things started to fall apart. The hosts lost wickets in quick succession and were 69-5 in the 9th over. Apart from some resistance from Hendricks and Jansen, there was no takeaway from their chasing innings. Tanveer Sangha (4/31) and Marcus Stoinis (3/18) led the Aussie bowling attack as they bowled out the opponents for 115 in 15.3 overs.

Speaking after the game, Player of the Match Mitchell Marsh said: "Always nice to start off a 3-match series with a win. My job is to score runs so was nice to get some today. Been really nice, I love playing for Australia. The environment we've got now is the best, I love it. Nice to contribute. Tim David was fantastic, he took a couple of balls to get settled but he took the pressure off me. I think I've played too much Test cricket lately, couldn't hit sixes at the death. Tanveer Sangha is a fantastic talent, he wasn't in the squad, flew in yesterday and played so well today".

Here's how fans reacted to Australia's emphatic win over South Africa in the first T20I:

Australia South Africa Mitchell Marsh