Australia vs South Africa 2018: David Miller and Faf du Plessis fire Proteas to series win
Riding on the scintillating centuries from David Miller and Faf du Plessis, South Africa overpowered Australia by 40 runs in the third and deciding ODI played at Hobart on Sunday.
It was an amazing batting performance by the South African team. They were reduced to 55 for 3. But Miller and du Plessis added a 252-run partnership to ensure that they reached a massive total. Despite Shaun Marsh's century, Australia fell short of the target in the end.
Australian captain Aaron Finch won the toss and decided to field first. The hosts got off to the perfect start as Mitchell Starc got an early breakthrough dismissing Quinton de Kock in the third over.
Reeza Hendricks and Aiden Markram put on 22 runs for the second wicket before Marcus Stoinis removed the former. At the end of 10 overs, South Africa were 27 for 2. The Australian bowlers continued to pile pressure on the visiting batsmen. The Proteas lost the big wicket of Markram and appeared to sink.
South African skipper Faf du Plessis and David Miller steadied the innings with solid stroke-play. They complemented the singles by hitting boundaries regularly. Both batsmen smashed the Australian bowlers with their crisp hitting. While his captain reached three figures from 105 balls, the left-hander reached his century off 95 balls.
Faf du Plessis was dismissed for 125 off 114 balls. But he had helped add 252 runs for the fourth wicket. Miller hammered 139 off 108 balls before holing out in the last over. In the last 10 overs, South Africa smashed 130 runs for the loss of just two wickets. While Starc and Stoinis took two wickets each, Hazlewood picked up one wicket.
Chasing a target of 321 runs to win, Australia got off to a poor start as Dale Steyn dismissed Chris Lynn on the very first ball itself. Finch could only score 11 runs. At the end of 10 overs, the hosts were 39 for 2.
Travis Head was dismissed soon to leave Australia at 39 for 3. Stoinis and Shaun Marsh steadied the innings with an impressive partnership. While the right-hander reached his half century off 59 balls, the southpaw completed his fifty from 62 balls.
Dwaine Pretorius struck to dismiss Stoinis in the 30th over of the innings. Marsh and Stoinis had added 107 runs for the fourth wicket. The left-hander combined with Alex Carey to offer Australia a slim chance of winning the match.
Marsh reached his sixth ODI century off 98 balls. When things were looking good for the hosts, he was dismissed for 106. The South African bowlers did not allow Glenn Maxwell and Carey to make any impact on the game.
Carey scored 42 off 41 balls while Maxwell could only manage 35 from 27. Australia finished at 280 for 9 in their 50 overs. While Steyn and Rabada picked three wickets each, Pretorius chipped in with two scalps.
Brief Scores: South Africa - 320/5 in 50 overs (David Miller 139, Faf du Plessis 125, Starc 2/57, Stoinis 2/70) beat Australia - 280/9 in 50 overs (Shaun Marsh 106, Stoinis 63, Rabada 3/40, Steyn 3/45) by 40 runs