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SOUTH AFRICA 317/6 (50 OVERS)
- AB de Villiers84 (74)
- Herschelle Gibbs110 (116)
- Shane Harwood2/57 (10)
- Mitchell Johnson2/59 (10)
AUSTRALIA 256 (45.5 OVERS)
- Brad Haddin78 (61)
- Ricky Ponting53 (67)
- Dale Steyn4/44 (7.5)
- Roelof van der Merwe3/46 (10)
Three successive wins have handed South Africa the series here. Australia were in the hunt with the kind of start they got from Clarke and Haddin, who added 129. But three wickets in fairly quick succession, all to spinners turned the tide in favour of South Africa. van der Merwe was the star for them with the ball, taking three wickets 3 for 46, including the half-centurion Clarke and Michael Hussey. Ponting started off slowly but got into his groove a little too late with five wickets down. He took four boundaries off an over from Steyn in the third powerplay but fell off the final ball, proving decisive in the outcome. Hopes tried to resist, but Steyn came back well to clean up the tail and finish with 4 for 44.
Ponting: "It (the score) was too many in the end. We let them off in the middle and towards the end of their innings. Gibbs played a sensational knock, and despite the movement early on, we couldn't do well enough. We are professional cricketers and we try to do our best each time we play. We weren't able to do well this time, and the South Africans outplayed us in the last three games."
Herschelle Gibbs is the Man of the Match for his 110.
Gibbs: "It's a beautiful ground to play and a beautiful crowd as well. It was a matter of getting through the new ball, and the guys prepared a really good wicket. It was all about getting partnerships up front and the guys finished up very well in the end. It was nice to get some runs today and finish off what has been a really peaceful easter weekend."
Smith: "Another very good day for us, and the batsmen did a superb job. Gibbs has been getting some starts, but it was good to see him do well today. We were going to bat anyway, but we were hoping for the pitch to slow up. It is a bit unusual for Australia to bowl first in big games. Everyone's contributing with both bat and ball, and we'll look to finish the series on a high note at the Wanderers."
That's all we have from here folks. Thanks for tuning in and sending us all your feedback. We'll see you again for the fifth and final ODI in Johannesburg on April 17. Until then, on behalf of all of us at Cricinfo, it's Siddhartha Talya signing off. Adios!
SM Harwood b Steyn 0 (2m 4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
South Africa are on the brink of a series win here. Just one more wicket needed. Harwood, the debutant, is now on strike
NM Hauritz b Steyn 3 (9m 5b 0x4 0x6) SR: 60.00
END OF OVER:45 | 8 Runs 1 Wkt | AUS: 256/8 (62 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 5.68, RRR: 12.40)
- Nathan Bracken0 (1b)
- Nathan Hauritz3 (4b)
- Wayne Parnell9-0-64-1
- Albie Morkel5-0-25-1
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