Clinical Australia dismantle South Africa to seal 2-1 T20I series win

South Africa didn't win a fourth successive home series and will go a full twelve months without a trophy given that they beat Sri Lanka in the home last March following defeat to Australia in the series finale in Cape Town. After choosing to field first, South Africa's five-man attack leaked runs in the first half of Australia's innings but it was their batting line-up that basically let them down.

Their chase was up before it had even properly begun when they reduced to 23 for 2 in the 3rd over and 65 for 5 at the halfway stage. Australia needed just 5.3 more overs to summary their victory and condemn South Africa to their second-worst defeat in this format, five days after subjecting them with their worst.

The visitors played a near-perfect game with half-centuries from David Warner and Aaron Finch, the most notable two run-scorers in the series, setting them up for a major score. After an opening stand of 120 in 11.3 overs, Australia could have been eyeing a total over 200 but a slowing surface and a more disciplined South African performance left them seven runs short. It had been still plenty of for a South Africa side that is light on batting throughout this series.

With only six professional batsmen in the medial side and none of them even reaching 100 runs in the series, South Africa's insufficient experience is obvious. Scratch below that and look at who has been in charge of their problems and their struggles against spin become clear. Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa lead the wicket-takers' list and also have tied South Africa down all series.

Against spin, across the three matches, South Africa faced 129 balls, scored 125 runs and lost 13 wickets. Which means spin has averaged 9.62 runs a wicket and comes with an economy rate of 5.81 runs per over.

A lot of this match seemed like something we'd seen not too long ago (hint: in Johannesburg last Friday night when set South Africa a target of 197) but especially the 3rd ball of South Africa's reply.

Quinton de Kock was beaten by late outswing from Mitchell Starc and bowled, precisely as he was on the 3rd ball of South Africa's innings at the Wanderers. Given that de Kock was the only batsmen to have scored more than 70 runs in the series, South African fans could have understandably assumed that was the finish of their hopes in the chase. But also for the die-harders that realisation may only attended two overs later, when Faf du Plessis tried to launch Starc over third man and sent his outside edge swirling to Zampa just in the rope. At 23 for 3, with 171 to get from 17 overs, South Africa's night was all but over.

But if you still weren't quite sure of what lengths off the mark South Africa (aka ZA) were, then Zampa provided three more pointers prior to the halfway stage. He bowled Heinrich Klaasen, who got everything in his pre-meditated switch-hit right aside from the 'hit' part and presented a Dale Steyn-style chainsaw celebration. Then, he took a gorgeous catch low down sprinting in from third man to dismiss Rassie van der Dussen, who played two ramp shots in two balls and misjudged his placement.

And lastly, Zampa bowled Pite van Biljon, whose debut series offers worse since it progressed, with scores of 16, 7* and 1. South Africa were 65 for 5 after 10 overs, and needed 129 runs to win and 87 to avoid a record-defeat. Only the second of those was realistically achievable. Still, South Africa lost their last five wickets for nine runs and were comprehensively outplayed.

Australia's openers placed on the very best powerplay of the series, and their joint third-highest ever as they stormed to 75 without loss in the first six overs. All the four seamers South Africa tried in the opening exchange were equally profligate, choosing 12 runs an over each with three leg byes creating the rest of that score.

Finch and Warner struck eight fours and two sixes between them but their running between your wickets told the real story of their aggression. Both of them took off almost as soon as they had hit the ball, even if there is a fielder swooping in plus they caught South Africa off guard. Their 14 singles, one two and one three might not have contributed as much as their boundaries nonetheless it signaled their intent. As a result, South Africa only bowled seven dot balls in the powerplay, the cheapest ever.

On cue, after the half-way stage of the innings have been reached, South Africa started out the squeeze with Tabraiz Shamsi dealing with 18 runs off his first two overs, to only five off his third. Shamsi set South Africa up to make a breakthrough which came in the 12th over, bowled by Anrich Nortje.

It started with Finch zipping through for an individual and putting Warner on strike. Keen to keep things going, Warner cleared his front leg to try and launch the next ball over the off side but Nortje foxed him with a cutter and Warner was well beaten. That was enough to frustrate him and he was late on the pull off the next ball and well caught by David Miller, who was simply running backward from short midwicket.

Finch faced the fourth ball and wanted a run when he hit to backward point but there wasn't one. He was also frustrated and threw his hands at the fifth delivery but missed and ended the over with the single he wanted. Two runs came off that Nortje over, in addition to the wicket. ESPNcricinfo's forecaster adjusted the full total from 210 in the beginning of the over to 198 at the end and it proved to the catalyst for his or her comeback. Shamsi's fourth over cost only four runs as he ended with an analysis of 4-0-25-1.

The first ball Kagiso Rabada bowled to Steve Smith in the series opener in Johannesburg was top-edged over third man for six as Australia's former captain drew first blood in the rivalry which commenced with a shoulder brush 2 yrs ago. The first ball Rabada bowled to Smith in the finale was a slower-ball yorker which experienced his legs and dismantled his stumps and the honours between your two could have been even.

But replays showed Rabada had overstepped considerably and Smith, who was on six at that time, visited finish unbeaten on 30. It had been clear who the true winner was.