Australia had a good day out in the field at the WACA on Friday, and they will look for a repeat of that performance when they host South Africa in the same ground in Perth on Sunday.
The batsmen, led by George Bailey, overcame a middle-of-the-innings slump to post exactly 300 in the first ODI, which South Africa failed to overhaul.
Nathan Coulter-Nile was the main man for Australia with the ball, picking up four wickets, including the crucial one of David Miller, which brought to an end a key partnership between the left-hander and AB De Villiers, who broke another record by becoming the fastest to 7000 ODI runs.
De Villiers was, as usual, in supreme form, with only a run out forcing him to walk back to the pavilion, and this time around the Proteas skipper will hope for more help from his batsmen, especially the top order, which did not quite fire in the first one-day international.
"There was proof at the end that it was really easy to chase it down but we lost too many wickets," said De Villiers after South Africa came up short by 32 runs, finishing on 268 all out in 48.1 overs. "We didn't have that ruthlessness to pull it off.
"I feel really bitter because I don't like losing games. I don't want us to go back home and think of what we could have done differently. I want us to fix it right now and go one-all in this series and still stay in this series, still win this series.
"There is no such thing of we want to learn from our mistakes, we are here to win."
The result might have been well different had South Africa, the team that everyone looks up to when it comes to fielding, not dropped Bailey multiple times, with the right-handed batsmen accepting all those gifts to make a 75-ball 70 which spurred the Aussies to 300.
De Villiers, though, is not too concerned by those misses. "I've got no problem with dropped catches, I've done it myself but I want us to create chances," added the skipper. "I'm more disappointed about the catches we pulled out of.
"The catches where I want us to get a hand on and we don't even get a hand on -- that's when I really get frustrated."
For Australia, this match will be about moving on from the loss of their skipper Michael Clarke, who did his hamstring again and did not take the field in the second innings. Clarke has been ruled out for the entire five-match series, leaving Bailey to captain the side for the rest of the series, starting with the 2nd ODI.
"Michael had scans today in Perth for his ongoing left hamstring problem and as a result has been ruled out of the remaining matches in the Carlton Mid ODI Series," said Cricket Australia team doctor Peter Brukner.
Where to Watch Live
The 2nd ODI match is scheduled for a 11.20 am local time (8.50 am IST, 3.20 am GMT, 5.20 am SA time) start with live coverage in India on Star Sports. The match can also be watched via live streaming online in India on Starsports.com.
Catch the action in Australia on Channel 9 or via a live stream on Cricket Australia Live. Viewers in the UK can catch the 2nd match on Sky Sports 2. The match can also be watched via live streaming on Watch Sky Sports or Sky Go. South Africa viewers can catch all the action on SuperSport 2 or via a live stream on SuperSport Live Online.
Viewers in the USA can live stream the action on Willow TV, while audience in the Middle East and North Africa can watch the game on OSN or live online on OSN Play.
Expected lineups: Australia: Aaron Finch, David Warner, Shane Watson, George Bailey (capt), Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Matthew Wade, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Johnson, Josh Hazlewood.
South Africa: Quinton De Kock, Hashim Amla, Faf Du Plessis, Farhaan Behardien, AB De Villiers (capt), David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir.
