Cairns, Aug 16 (NationPress) South Africa's captain Aiden Markram acknowledged that his team was edged out by small margins after Glenn Maxwell scored an impressive unbeaten 62, leading Australia to a nail-biting two-wicket win in the final T20I at Cazalys Stadium on Saturday, thereby clinching the series 2-1 for the home side.

“It was a solid match of cricket, but we ended up on the losing side unfortunately. Small margins played a role. We didn’t set enough runs on the board tonight, but I was proud of how we fought with the ball. It’s not the finish we desired, but there are still positive takeaways from this series,” Markram expressed after the match.

In their chase of 173, Australia found themselves in a precarious position at 122/6 when Maxwell took control, hitting eight fours and two sixes in a remarkable 36-ball innings. He maintained his composure to secure the victory with the second-to-last ball, igniting jubilation in the packed crowd during the venue’s inaugural men’s T20I. Earlier, captain Mitchell Marsh contributed a brisk 54 off 37 balls, forming a 66-run partnership with Travis Head to give Australia a strong start.

South Africa appeared to be in command at one point, taking three wickets in just 13 balls to apply pressure on the Australian chase, but Maxwell’s strategic hitting in the final overs turned the tide back in favor of the hosts.

Batting first, South Africa registered a score of 172/7. Brevis was the standout performer, scoring 53 off 26 balls, continuing his excellent form from the previous match where he scored a century. Despite losing Markram in the first over, Lhuan-dre Pretorius maintained the run rate during the powerplay with 24 runs, while Brevis’ explosive batting propelled them to 108/3 by the 11th over, making 200 runs seem achievable.

Markram also praised teammate Dewald Brevis, referring to him as a “special player” following another impressive performance.

“Not many can achieve what he (Brevis) does; he is truly special and puts great effort into his game. We have been improving, and while losing is never ideal, we have many positives from this series,” Markram stated.

However, Brevis’ dismissal, miscuing a slower ball from Nathan Ellis to long-on, proved to be a turning point. From that moment, Australia tightened their grip through Ellis (2/29), Adam Zampa, and effective death bowling, limiting South Africa to just 64 runs in the last nine overs.