Iceman’s Realm

After the close encounter in the first ODI, the home team has come back strongly. Having won the toss, the South African skipper opted to bowl first on this Bellerive Oval pitch, Hobart. Australia had a bumpy start when it lost the impressive opener David Warner for just 5 runs. After that, it was skipper Ricky Ponting and the other opener, Shaun Marsh who steadied the Australian innings.  Contributions, though trifle, came from other players as well, the home team was not at all satisfied with the final total. 249 though not a good score, it was more than enough on this pitch which was not that conducive for batting. South Africa chasing down 250 was not at its usual best. However at the end, the visiting team fell short of just 5 runs albeit Albie Morkel and mark Boucher were unbeaten till the very end. Unsuccessful run chase, this second ODI.