Player of the Match
Player of the Match

Australia win by 175 runs and lead the series 2-0. They've completely turned the tables on South Africa after what happened in Australia late last year. Talk about revenge.

South Africa were in with a fighting chance to draw the game at the start this morning but the new ball did the trick. Both Kallis and de Villiers fell early and the result was inevitable from there on. Australia were under pressure at the start of the series to retain their No.1 ranking and they have done so in ruthless fashion, thanks to their young brigade.

South Africa will blame it all on their batting in the first innings of both Tests. Was it complacency or were their players tired? Robin Jackman made a valid point on commentary that the board should have organised a practice game for the Test side against a composite XI before the series to shrug off the rustiness. That they managed to beat India and West Indies after losing the opening Test is another story. But against Australia, you cannot afford to take things lightly and hopefully lessons will be learnt.

Stay with us for the presentation.

Smith: "We haven't been able to maintain the intensity. We've got to be honest with ourselves and take it on the chin. We'd like to bounce back as soon as possible. I went 10 years without breaking a finger and now I've broken two in three Tests. The squad has done well over a period of time."

Ponting: "We knew we had our backs to the wall. People probably overlooked how close the series was back at home. It feels different ( leading a team I have built). All of a sudden we look good again (laughs)."

Phillip Hughes is the Man of the Match "Been an exciting two weeks. There's been a lot of hype and talk about how different my batting is. All the guys in the pub at Macksville (NSW) got a free beer (laughs)."

That's it from all of us here. We'll see you at Newlands in CapeTown on March 19. On behalf of Siddhartha Talya and Raju, this is Kanishkaa signing off. Cheers!

132.2
W
Katich to Steyn, OUT, That's the series to Australia! Steyn gets a pace forward and goes for a huge heave across the line and he misses, he doesn't bother dragging it foot back and Haddin breaks the stumps

DW Steyn st †Haddin b Katich 7 (27m 22b 0x4 0x6) SR: 31.81

132.1
0
Katich to Steyn, no run, gets forward and defends with soft hands

END OF OVER:
132 | 3 Runs | SA: 370/8

  • Makhaya Ntini4 (3b)
  • Dale Steyn7 (20b)
  • Marcus North20-6-36-1
  • Simon Katich11-1-45-2
131.6
0
North to Ntini, no run, tries to withdraw the shot and the ball clips the pad
131.5
0
North to Ntini, no run, gets a half stride forward and he's beaten
131.4
1
North to Steyn, 1 run, Dropped He goes downtown and the ball dips a bit before reaching Johnson at mid-on, he slides forward, gets a hand to it and spills the catch on the dive
131.3
2
North to Steyn, 2 runs, strays on the pads and he tucks it behind square on the on side, pushes the second
131.2
0
North to Steyn, no run, thrusts forward and tucks it to leg gully

Australia tour of South Africa 2008-09 News

South Africa 4th innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st63ND McKenzieHM Amla
2nd17JH KallisHM Amla
3rd187JH KallisAB de Villiers
4th12JP DuminyAB de Villiers
5th20MV BoucherJP Duminy
6th8MV BoucherPL Harris
7th38MV BoucherM Morkel
8th18DW SteynM Morkel
9th7M NtiniDW Steyn