Australia thrash South Africa to win T20 series
Australia reprised their commanding Wanderers performance and crushed a meek SA team by a comprehensive 97 runs to claim a 2-1 series win on Wednesday night.
Like in the first T20 in Johannesburg, Australia lost the toss, started fast, scored big and strangled the hapless hosts in the subsequent chase.
In making 193/5, Australia forced the hosts to make the highest successful T20 chase at Newlands. They did not even get close. In fact, they were nonstarters as they fell to 96 all out, the lowest team total at Newlands. It was embarrassing stuff.
Just like the Wanderers, the hosts failed to get to three figures as they wilted in the face of a disciplined and constricting bowling performance from the visitors. It was an abject allround display from SA, who could not string together meaningful partnerships.
From the fourth ball of the innings when Mitchell Starc (3/23) repeated his Wanderers start by detonating Quinton de Kock’s (five) middle-stump, South Africa could not keep up with the run-rate. 6/1 became 23/2 when Faf du Plessis (five) picked out Adam Zampa at third man.
Rassie van der Dussen (24) and Heinrich Klaasen (22) stitched together a 34-run stand for the third wicket but once they fell to Zampa (2/10) and Ashton Agar (3/16) respectively, SA were 59/4 in the ninth over.
The game was gone as a contest and all that remained was for Australia to administer the last rites. They needed another seven overs to do so with Pite van Biljon (one), David Miller (11) and Dwaine Pretorius (11) not offering much in the way of resistance.
When they fell to Zampa, Pat
Cummins (1/27) and Mitchell Marsh (1/3) respectively, SA slipped to 87/7 in 13.1 overs.
There also was enough time for Agar to be on a hattrick when he dismissed Anrich Nortje (2) and Lungi Ngidi (nought) in consecutive balls but Tabraiz Shamsi (2*) kept out the hattrick ball.
Starc then finished what he started by trapping Kagiso Rabada in front to complete the rout.
It was a case of SA starting and ending the innings poorly, with a lot of constricting bowling in-between.
When David Warner (57) and Aaron Finch (55) motored unfussed at the start of the innings, Australia were coasting at more than 10 an over and looked odds-on for more than.
That SA kept Australia to below 200 was an achievement and indictment at the same time. Warner and Finch were allowed to punch boundaries with little pressure, with 10 coming off the first six overs as they put together a 120-run stand in 11.3 overs.
Australia’s 50 was raised in four overs and after five overs, they were 63/0.
When the powerplay ended after six overs, Australia were 74/0 and SA were without an answer.
SA’s torture at the hands of Warner and Finch continued, with the former raising his 50 off 33 balls while the latter reached his in 27 balls. In their early rampage, they’d crashed 11 fours and three sixes. Australia’s early joyride ended in the 11th and 12th overs when Warner holed out to David Miller at square leg off Anrich Nortje (1/46) while Finch was trapped in front by Tabraiz Shamsi (1/25).
Matthew Wade (10), Mitchell Marsh (19) and Alex Carey (7) did not have the same impression. They gifted their wickets to Lungi Ngidi (1/33), Dwaine Pretorius (1/42) and Kagiso Rabada (1/42) respectively.