Australia v South Africa - South Africa in Australia Test Series - 3rd Test – Match Recap
South Africa 225 & 569 v Australia 163 & 322 - South Africa won by 309 runs
On Monday, South Africa embossed their No. 1 ranking with a stupendous 309-run victory against hosts Australia, in the three-match decider, played at Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth.
The Proteas, after getting defeated in the second Test, made a staggering comeback by ending the match on the penultimate day. This is without doubt the best possible way for the South Africans to end their year and leave their biggest rivals (Australia) in ruins, who now know that they still have a long way to go before becoming the top dogs in Test cricket.
While South Africa were humbled by Ricky Ponting’s last appearance in international cricket, that did not stop them from sending the phenomenal batsman back with a heavy heart and a final tally of eight, as unsatisfying as the rest of the day.
The only moment in the match when the South Africans brought their rattling attack to halt, was when Ponting arrived in the middle as he was given a guard of honour by Graeme Smith.
DW Steyn proved just why he is, at the moment, the most feared pace bowler in the cricketing world as he took seven wickets in the match, playing a vital role in decapitating the Aussies on the fourth day of play.
Surprisingly for the Australian fans, their side bore the look of a squad that had fired all their bullets in the previous outings and were now out of ideas in the series finale.
On the other hand, the South Africans played their cards accordingly and with their poker face on, they kept the Australians puzzled.
In the first innings, the South Africans had an average outing by posting 225 runs, but made amends by restricting the Australians on 163. This was the moment when the hosts let the game slip out of their hands. Had they managed to stay on the wicket for a bit longer, they could have ended the innings with a better score on the board.
The visitors then devastated the Aussies by piling a huge second innings score of 569 with Hashim Amla blasting a staggering innings of 196, and AB de Villiers belting a knock of 169 runs.
Today, Australia resumed their second innings from 40 runs without any loss in pursuit of 632 needed to win.
On the second delivery of the morning, Philander made inroads by dismissing DA Warner, who perished with 29 runs to his name.
SR Watson, who had come at number-three, mustered only 25 runs before losing his wicket to Morkel.
This was a terrible day for the Aussies, as they never seemed comfortable enough to forge big partnerships, consequently crumbling in 82.5 overs with 322 runs on the board.
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