A thorough, clinical win for Australia. The balls that were used during Australia's innings would probably be relieved that they won't get bashed around anymore. Australia have the chance to make it 3-0 in a couple of days. Can South Africa stop them? Join us then to find out. For now, you can check out Firdose Moonda's match report here. Goodbye from me, Ekanth, and our scorers, K Vairavan and Chandan Duorah.
Mitchell Marsh, Australia captain: It's great. Proud of the boys. Series win in South Africa has been hard to come by in my time. Tonight, the game was set up by the bowlers. Always tough to leave out players. Spencer was rested, he'll have a role to play in the ODIs. Lucky to have Jason, who's experienced. All our bowlers were fantastic. Not every day you get the chance to get a 3-0 win. Hope we put on a show in front of a big crowd.
Sean Abbott, POTM: The pitch suited the bowlers. For most of the night, we got that right. Credit should go to the batters, great intent. Wasn't an easy pitch to bat on at times. Hundred partnership on that wicket was a very good effort. It's a great dressing room to be a part of. Getting to hang around these lads and beat a side as good as South Africa. One of Mitch's great strengths is he takes the pressure off you, provides a great environment, and gives a great vibe within the group.
Aiden Markram, South Africa captain: Temba got us off to a great start, played with good intent. Loss of wickets made it challenging. Wanted to take it deep and give yourself a chance to win the game. But we felt they bowled nicely. When they came on to bat, it was hard when you've got two big boys trying to smoke it out of the ground all the time. Good opportunity for a young group to learn. They have found matchwinners every game. Doesn't matter what team you field, it's still international cricket. You gotta find a way to be competitive. Hope to do that on Sunday.
Louis : "Wow, this is depressing."
Brett: "Australia (Marsh) got 4 off the last ball not 1." We're trying to figure it out. Both batters did get to the opposite end when the ball rolled to the boundary. Update: looks like the ball made it through just before Inglis. So, four it will be.
8:56pm: Phew, that was a demolition job to seal the series. Australia were led/bulldozed from the front by Marsh again. The score was around par, maybe slightly under, but Marsh made it look like it was, what, 70-80 short? Speaking of Short, he was just as good, belting all comers to finish with a 66 at a strike rate of 220. That was just a strength-and-conditioning session, an exhibition of brute power. South Africa's pacers and spinners often took pace off the ball but the batters manufactured their own, with a healthy surplus, to nail 18 fours and 10 sixes in just under 15 overs!
Saleem: "Marsh wants to finish it off before 9 PM. " Greg Dill: "It looks like Bison has dinner reservations in 30 mins from now! :O "
Just 11 needed. This might be the last over.
END OF OVER:14 | 15 Runs | AUS: 154/2 (11 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 11.00, RRR: 1.83)
- Mitchell Marsh65 (34b)
- Josh Inglis2 (3b)
- Tabraiz Shamsi4-0-40-1
- Bjorn Fortuin2-0-25-0
Raju Gupta: "This is savage batting by Marsh."
George: "Unfortunately, this is carnage at every level."
END OF OVER:13 | 7 Runs | AUS: 139/2 (26 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 10.69, RRR: 3.71)
- Mitchell Marsh51 (30b)
- Josh Inglis1 (1b)
- Bjorn Fortuin2-0-25-0
- Tabraiz Shamsi3-0-25-1