South African captain Temba Bavuma carried his bat for a defiant century as his team were bowled out for 222 in the first one-day international against Australia at the Mangaung Oval on Thursday.
Bavuma opened the batting and made an unbeaten 114 while his teammates crumbled against accurate bowling on a slow, dry pitch with uneven bounce.
Josh Hazlewood set the tone with the new ball, allowing only one scoring stroke in his first three overs.
With the Cricket World Cup less than a month away, three key South African batsmen returned to the team but Quinton de Kock (11), Heinrich Klaasen (14) and David Miller (0) were unable to make an impact.
Marco Jansen, batting at number seven, made 32 and helped Bavuma add 57 for the sixth wicket.
Mitchell Marsh, captaining Australia for the first time in an ODI, rotated his bowlers in short spells and the South Africans struggled to build any momentum before Bavuma went on the attack during a last-wicket stand of 37 with Lungi Ngidi, who was last man out without scoring.
Bavuma was dropped on two when Ashton Agar put down a diving chance at backward point off Sean Abbott.
He survived again on 88, with Ngidi at the wicket, when he top-edged a slog against leg-spinner Adam Zampa and wicketkeeper Alex Carey spilled a straightforward chance.
Two overs later, Bavuma hit Zampa for six and four to raise his fifth one-day international century.
He finished with 14 fours and a six off 142 balls despite struggling with cramp towards the end of the innings.
Brief scores:
South Africa 222 in 49 overs (T. Bavuma 114 not out, M. Jansen 32; J. Hazlewood 3-41, M. Stoinis 2-20)
Match situation: Australia need 223 runs to win
Toss: Australia
cb/bsp
