AUS vs SA Live Score, 1st ODI: Latest updates from Australia against South Africa in Cairns

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, FOUR! Edged away! Back of a length and in the channel again, Head looks to lean back and punch but gets thick outside edge through the vacant first slip region and picks up a boundary.

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, Good-length delivery, angled in from around off, and this one stays down a touch. Head gets hurried and cuts it off the outside edge, down to the left of the keeper, who makes a good stop.

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, FOUR! Chipped up and over! Full and angled into the batter, looking to cramp Head for room but Head manages to make a bit of room and uses the wrists to flick it over short mid-wicket for another boundary.

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, Wide! Fuller in length, drifting down the leg side.

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, FOUR! That's been swatted away! A bit agricultural from Head. Full and straight, Travis Head just takes the front leg out and goes after it. The bat face turns, but Head uses the bottom hand and gets it to the right of mid on for a boundary.

Lungi Ngidi to Mitchell Marsh, FOUR! Easy power from 'The Bison'. Slower delivery, overpitched around off, Mitchell Marsh plants his front leg forward and just hits through the line, hammering it over mid off for a boundary.

Lungi Ngidi to Mitchell Marsh, Just full of a good length, tight line on off and angling in, Marsh watchfully defends.

Lungi Ngidi to Travis Head, On a good length, just angling across off, Head cuts it down to deep third and picks up a single.

Lungi Ngidi to Travis Head, Fractionally short over leg, Travis Head gets up on his toes and whips it away, but straight to square leg. Another dot.

Lungi Ngidi to Travis Head, Nice and full, angled across the middle stump, Head stays solid in defence.

Lungi Ngidi to Travis Head, Nagging length, slanted across middle and leg, Head stays back and pushes it out to mid off.

Nandre Burger to Mitchell Marsh, In the air but will land safely! A quick bumper at 144.2 kph, and right at the batter. Mitchell Marsh takes it on and gets a top edge that flies wide of deep backward square leg and Marsh picks up a couple of runs.

Nandre Burger to Mitchell Marsh, Good-length delivery, on off and middle, defended down the pitch by Marsh.

Nandre Burger to Mitchell Marsh, Fractionally short around leg, tucking up the batter. Marsh looks to pick it up over fine leg but gets tangled up and gets it off the thigh pads just beside the stumps.

Nandre Burger to Mitchell Marsh, FOUR! Not where he intended that one to go, but Mitch will take it. Fuller in length and angled across off, Marsh plants his front leg across to access the cover drive but gets it off the inner half of the blade. Finds the gap perfectly between mid on and mid-wicket as the ball races away to the fence.

Nandre Burger to Mitchell Marsh, Pitched outside leg! Hard length around leg, skids on, Mitchell Marsh gets caught on the back foot and plays all around it, getting pinged on the pads.

Nandre Burger to Mitchell Marsh, FOUR! Driven in the air but powerfully too! Hard-length delivery, angled across off, Marsh is waiting for it and throws his hands at it, slashing it over the point region for a boundary.

Lungi Ngidi to Mitchell Marsh, Pitched up at the stumps, Marsh shows the full face of the blade and punches it sweetly down the ground. The fielder at mid on does well to scamper to his left and cut it off. Just a single.

Lungi Ngidi to Mitchell Marsh, A bit fuller and in the channel, nibbling away, Marsh leaves it alone.

Lungi Ngidi to Mitchell Marsh, FOUR! Up and away! Short of a length around middle, no real bite on it and just sits up for the batter. Mitchell Marsh hangs back and picks it up over and in front of square on the leg side for a boundary. That nearly travelled over the ropes.

Lungi Ngidi to Mitchell Marsh, Similar line and length to the previous delivery, offering no width to the batter. Marsh stays compact and defends it in front of covers.

Lungi Ngidi to Mitchell Marsh, Just back of a length and angling in from outside off, Marsh covers the line and punches it down with a straight bat towards mid off.

Lungi Ngidi to Mitchell Marsh, FIVE WIDES! Freebies from Ngidi! Length ball, starts around middle and leg and this is slanted well down the leg side. Ryan Rickelton dives to his left but is beaten by the prodigious swing as the ball rolls away into the fine leg fence.

Lungi Ngidi to Mitchell Marsh, Starts wider on the crease and serves it on a length, angling it in from outside off. Mitchell Marsh hangs back and taps it down into the off side.

Lungi Ngidi to operate from the far end.

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, Good length, tight line on off, Head stays back and just blocks it towards extra cover. Just the boundary off the first over of the chase.

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, Back of a length, well outside off again, Head is unable to take advantage as he mistimes the cut off the under edge and into the off side. Burger has been consistently bowling in excess of 140 kph in this over.

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, FOUR! Gloriously driven and the Australian chase is underway! A bit full and a bit wide outside off, Travis Head stays low and drives it with a short pick-up, and finds the gap at square covers for a boundary.

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, Hard length outside off, a bit of width on offer and Head pounces on it. This is hit hard and to the left of cover-point, where Dewald Brevis makes a diving stop.

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, Nagging length, attacking the top of off a 145 clicks, Head presses onto the back foot and nudges it down behind point.

Nandre Burger to Travis Head, Fuller one to begin with, around off, Travis Head drills the drive but hits it straight to extra cover. No sign of any movement in the air there.

Welcome back for Australia's chase! Dew, or no dew, is the question. And how will that affect the bowling? We shall find that out sooner. Now then, the Proteas spread out of the huddle and take their spots on the field. Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head will open for 'Straya'. Nandre Burger has the new ball and is raring to go. Let's play...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Right. 297 is the magic number for Australia to maintain an unbeaten record at Cazaly's Stadium. But in chasing a total as challenging as this, or in any run chase for that matter, a good start with the bat is a non-negotiable, as chasing hasn't been THAT easy here. South Africa will be without the services of their premier pacer Kagiso Rabada and it will be interesting to see how they restrict this Australian side laden with power hitters. Spin has been effective and the likes of Keshav Maharaj and Prenelan Subrayen could prove to be crucial. Stick around, as the run chase is on the other side very shortly.

Australia's Travis Head is up for a quick chat. He says that bowling 8-9 overs wasn't on the bingo for him, but after 4-5 overs, it felt good to bowl. Adds that he tried to get out of the hitting range of Dewald Brevis but he still tried to take him on and they've seen how destructive he can be in the T20s. Mentions that he and Mitch will look to maximize the Powerplay, especially with the wind playing a part but there might be some dew as we saw in the last T20I.

But despite that collapse, South Africa managed to score 73 runs in the last 10 overs on the back of pivotal lower order contributions. We all know that Wiaan Mulder can prove to be quite handy with the bat and he ensured that he stays till the end. His cameo of 31 off just 26 balls propelled the Saffas to 296. From an Australian bowling perspective, they used as many as seven bowlers, but the spinners proved to be more effective with Adam Zampa and Travis Head sharing 5 wickets between them. However, it was surprising to see Josh Hazlewood not bowling his full quota of ten overs, given how disciplined he was.

Australia tightened their lines and lengths in the middle overs, forcing the batters to take risks to keep the scoreboard moving. But wickets didn’t fall in clusters. South Africa kept building partnerships, with Breetzke and Bavuma steering the innings steadily. With the pitch offering grip and the spinners in control, Labuschagne was brought in as a third spin option to add more variety and keep the pressure on. But it was Travis Head who fished out to the big hitters, claiming a four-for. The big highlight of his bowling was him fishing out Tristan Stubbs and Dewald Brevis, just when the Proteas were about to motor in the final ten overs. With those quick fall of wickets, South Africa slipped from a comfortable 223/2 to 230/5.

As soon as the fielding restrictions were lifted, Marsh turned to spin. Zampa and Head bowled in tandem and started getting noticeable turn. The openers looked a bit hesitant, and a few false strokes crept in as the ball began to grip. Head eventually broke the 92-run stand. Even though the spinners were tricky, the pacers became easier to handle, especially as the ball softened up, making strokeplay more comfortable. Markram kept the tempo up, but once he departed for 82, the innings slowed and boundaries became harder to find.

With hardly any grass on the pitch, it looked like a decent surface for batting. But early on, Hazlewood and Dwarshuis found just enough movement and nip off the deck to keep the openers quiet. They bowled tight lines, making sure the batters couldn’t swing freely. But once that early movement faded, Markram and Rickelton began to settle in. They weren't flashy, but showed good composure while being watchful. They saw off the first line of Australia's bowling attack safely and posted 56 runs in the first Powerplay without losing a wicket.

Not quite sure which side will be more pleased with this score on the board. Australia might feel a bit good to restrict South Africa below 300, but given the circumstances South Africa were in before the start of the final Powerplay, they have recovered pretty well with the lower order chipping in with handy contributions. This is also the highest first-inning ODI total in Cairns, and with 11 runs coming off the last over, the Proteas would have a slight momentum going back into the sheds. But through and through, as has been the case in this white-ball series so far, both teams have traded blows equally and momentum hasn't stayed with one side for long.

Ben Dwarshuis to Wiaan Mulder, SIX! Wiaan Mulder finishes things off in style! Slower one, on a length and outside off, Mulder hangs back and waits well before whacking it up and over long on for a biggie, just the third six of the innings but an important one at that. That's gone 99 meters! South Africa finish with 296/8 on the board!

Ben Dwarshuis to Nandre Burger, Full and slanting it into the legs, Burger plays all over the ball and gets pinged on the pads. The ball just rolls onto the leg side and they get a leg bye.

Ben Dwarshuis to Wiaan Mulder, Banged in short and over middle, Wiaan Mulder takes on the pull and gets it just short of deep square leg for a single.

Ben Dwarshuis to Wiaan Mulder, The call is for two and they get it with ease as well. Back of a length and outside off, slashed away by Mulder and towards the right of long off for a couple of runs.

Ben Dwarshuis to Wiaan Mulder, Short of a length and around off, Mulder leans back and pulls it flat don to long on but denies the single.

Ben Dwarshuis to Nandre Burger, Back of a length and outside off, tapped away through backward point for a single by Nandre Burger.

Nandre Burger is in at 10. Ben Dwarshuis to wrap up the first innings with the ball.

Is that run out? The ball deflects off Head's right hand and smashes at the stumps at the non-striker's end. Prenelan Subrayen tries to drag back his bat inside the crease, but the replay shows that his bat is out by a close margin.

Travis Head to Wiaan Mulder, OUT! RUN OUT! That is ridiculous from Travis Head and he can do no wrong when he's on song, whether it be with bat, ball, or even in the field. Head tosses the ball up, full and straight, Wiaan Mulder leans on and drills the ball to the right of the bowler. Head goes down low to his right on the follow-through and deflects it back onto the stumps from a really acute angle. Prenelan Subrayen did just wander out of his crease and replays show that his bat was in the air when the bails came off.

Travis Head to Prenelan Subrayen, Full and around off, hit away along the turf and down to long off for a single.