South Africa takes series despite losing last match

Australia beat South Africa by a margin of 47 runs but South Africa won the series 3-2 and retained the Number 1 spot in the world ODI rankings.

Australia bounced back to finish the one-day international cricket series against South Africa with a convincing 47-run victory at the Wanderers. South Africa still won the series 3-2 and retained the Number 1 spot in the world ODI rankings.

Australia’s total of 303-7 initially looked like it could be reached on a good wicket,but the Proteas dropped from 150-1 to be all out for 256 less than 20 overs later.

South Africa lost captain Graeme Smith for 20 with the score on 46. His opening partner Herschelle Gibbs,who hit a century in the last match,hit 10 fours and a six in the 101 balls he faced,before falling for 86.

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Going for a sweep shot,he was trapped in front by off-spinner Nathan Hauritz.

Gibbs and Jacques Kallis added 104 for the second wicket in 20.3 overs,with the all-rounder hitting 64 off 69 balls,with six fours and a six.

Smith,Kallis and J P Duminy (3) all went caught behind off forcing shots,the first two to Bracken and the latter to Johnson.

A B de Villiers (38) was the only other home-side batsman to contribute a decent score,but he was bowled by a Ben Laughlin full-toss to be seventh man out on 229 in the 43rd over.

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Fast bowler Mitchell Johnson finished with 3-58 for the best analysis,although Hauritz took the man-of-the-match award with his 2-34 in Friday’s match.

The spinner helped slow down the scoring rate in the middle of the Proteas innings and claimed the valuable wickets of Gibbs and Albie Morkel (5). Morkel was out to a stunning catch high on the square-leg boundary by Laughlin,where the fielder did well to stay inside the boundary ropes.

Earlier,Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin put on a 27-run opening stand for Australia before South Africa hit back to restrict the visitors to 303-7.

Ricky Ponting (40) and Callum Ferguson (41) got starts before being dismissed as South Africa took 7-119 in the middle overs.

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However,Michael Hussey (49 not out) and Hauritz (24 not out) added a 57-run partnership in the final 10 overs to boost the total.

South African part-time spinner Duminy took 3-48 and left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe 2-44 to slow the scoring.

After Clarke and Haddin had put on their second hundred stand in as many matches,Haddin sliced a ball high from Morkel and was caught by Duminy in the covers in the 20th over.