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2nd ODI | South Africa vs Australia 2026 | Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg | 27 September 2026
Keshav Maharaj is the bowler Australia must solve in Johannesburg after his 4/20 ripped through them in Durban, with Bjorn Fortuin backing him up. On the other side, Pat Cummins is expected to play his only match of the series, joining Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa. South Africa’s seam stocks are thin after a run of hamstring injuries, so spin could decide Sunday again. Here is how each attack shapes up before Sunday’s clash at the Wanderers.
Maharaj bowled 9.2 overs, two of them maidens, and conceded only 20 runs for his four wickets at Kingsmead on 24 September. It was the fourth four-wicket haul of his ODI career, and it took him to 77 wickets from 57 matches at 29.76.
The head-to-head numbers explain the worry in the visiting camp. He now has 22 wickets in 13 ODIs against Australia at 22.04, level with Pat Symcox for the most by a South African spinner against them. Australia’s batters have found no answer to him yet, and the Durban collapse came against slow bowling from both ends. Nothing from Thursday suggests they will solve it by Sunday unless the top order attacks him early.
Durban set a clear pecking order. The home spinners strangled the chase, while the visiting seamers and Zampa leaked runs across a long innings.
| Bowler | Team | 1st ODI Figures | Economy | Wickets | Notes |
| Keshav Maharaj | South Africa | 9.2-2-20-4 | 2.14 | 4 | 77 career ODI wickets |
| Bjorn Fortuin | South Africa | 8.0-0-34-2 | 4.25 | 2 | 18 career ODI wickets (16 matches) |
| Pat Cummins | Australia | DNP (Rested) | – | – | Workload management |
| Nathan Ellis | Australia | 10.0-0-57-3 | 5.70 | 3 | Wicket with first ball |
| Jack Edwards | Australia | 10.0-0-56-0 | 5.60 | 0 | ODI debut |
| Adam Zampa | Australia | 7.0-0-50-2 | 7.14 | 2 | 203 career ODI wickets |
Cummins sat that match out under a workload plan shared with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood ahead of the Test series. He handed Jack Edwards his debut cap instead, and the newcomer went wicketless.
Fortuin took 2/34 in Durban, and he came into the match in sharp form. Earlier in September, he claimed 4/33 at an economy of 3.30 against Namibia.
His career now reads 18 wickets from 16 ODIs, with an economy of 4.83 and an average of 33.94. Those figures are modest on their own, but paired with Maharaj, he denies Australia any easy overs through the middle. Between them, the two spinners took six wickets for just 54 runs in Durban. That is the blueprint the hosts will copy at the Wanderers, whatever the surface offers.
Cummins has not been officially named, but he is widely expected to play at the Wanderers. His last ODI came in November 2024 against Pakistan in Adelaide, so there is no recent form line to judge him on. Fresh legs help, as Ellis and Edwards bowled 20 overs in Durban.
Ellis was the pick of the seamers on Thursday with 3/57. He removed Quinton de Kock for 14 with his first ball and took a return catch to send back David Miller for 9, then helped pull back the death overs. Edwards finished 0/56 on debut but recovered late, going at a run a ball across his last four overs. He is a 26-year-old seam-bowling all-rounder from New South Wales, and that late control gives the selectors a reason to keep faith.
Zampa returned 2/50 from seven overs in Durban. He has 203 ODI wickets from 124 matches at 29.45, and his recent meetings with South Africa brought eight wickets in a five-match series there in 2023 and five in a three-match series at home in 2025.
The hosts cannot call on Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi or Ottneil Baartman, none of whom is in the squad because of hamstring injuries. Kwena Maphaka was also ruled out with a hamstring strain on 23 September and replaced by Lizaad Williams.
That absence is why spin carries so much weight for the Proteas. Maharaj remains the first name on any list of SA vs AUS ODI series Bowlers to watch, and Cummins must prove one appearance is enough to change that.
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Is Pat Cummins playing the 2nd ODI against South Africa?
Cummins is expected to play, though his selection has not been officially confirmed. He sat out the Durban opener and is set for his only ODI of the series at the Wanderers.
Who took the most wickets in the 1st ODI between South Africa and Australia?
Keshav Maharaj took the most wickets with 4/20. He bowled 9.2 overs with two maidens at Kingsmead, collecting the fourth four-wicket haul of his ODI career.
How good is Keshav Maharaj’s record against Australia?
Maharaj has 22 wickets in 13 ODIs against Australia at an average of 22.04. That ties him with Pat Symcox for the most ODI wickets by a South African spinner against them.
When is the South Africa vs Australia 2nd ODI?
The 2nd ODI is on Sunday, September 27, 2026, at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Cummins is expected to feature in what would be his first ODI since November 2024.
Who is Jack Edwards?
Jack Edwards is a 26-year-old seam-bowling all-rounder from New South Wales. He made his ODI debut for Australia in Durban on 24 September and finished with 0/56 from 10 overs, going at a run-a-ball rate late on.
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