191/5 (17.5)
CR : 10.71
190/8 (20.0)
CR : 9.50
Australia won by 5 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Travis Head
91(48)
AUS won by 5 wickets
8:40 PM IST, 5:10 PM Local Time: Another dominant performance from Australia as they beat South Africa comprehensively in the third T20I to complete a whitewash. South Africa managed to post a mammoth total on the board but the Australian batters stepped up and chased down the total with 13 balls to spare to win the game by five wickets. The Proteas have been completely outplayed in this T20I series and will have to get back to the drawing board quickly before the ODI series.
In the chase of 191, Australia got off to a worst possible start as Matthew Short departed on the very first ball of the innings. Mitchell Marsh looked good for his 15 before departing in the fourth over. Travis Head continued playing his strokes from the other end as Australia ended the powerplay on 63/2. Head was supported brilliantly from the other end by Josh Inglis as they scored at a brisk rate.
The Proteas had no answers to the onslaught from both the Australian batters and the fielding didn’t help them either. They dropped chances and allowed the partnership to grow. Head and Inglis put 85 between them off just 44 balls before the latter holed out in the deep on 42 off 22 balls. Head continued his merry way and didn’t allow the Proteas to get back in the contest.
With five required to win, Head tried to finish things with a six but holed out in the deep. He scored 91 off just 48 balls. His whirlwind knock comprised eight boundaries and six maximums. Tim David also fell on one but Marcus Stoinis made sure that he remained unbeaten on 37 to take his side across the line in the 18th over. Bjorn Fortuin and Geral Coetzee picked up two wickets each but it wasn't enough as the Proteas failed to defend the total.
Earlier, South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first. They didn’t have the best of starts as Temba Bavuma (0) and debutant Matthew Breetzke (5) fell cheaply inside the powerplay. Reeza Hendricks was joined by his skipper Aiden Markram and both led the recovery work as they ended the powerplay, with the scoreboard reading 51/2. Both played some beautiful shots and stitched 58 between them before Markram fell after scoring a 23-ball 41. Australia bounced back by dismissing Hendricks on 42 and picked quick wickets.
Debutant Donovan Ferreira walked out to bat and shifted the momentum back towards the Proteas. He hit sixes for fun. He along with Gerald Coetzee (13) put a brilliant stand of 54 off just 28 balls for the seventh wicket. Ferreira raced to 48 off just 21 balls before getting run out in the final over. His knock helped South Africa post 190 on the board. Australia picked up eight wickets in total, with Sean Abbott finishing with his career-best figures of 4/31 in his four overs.
In the chase of 191, Australia got off to a worst possible start as Matthew Short departed on the very first ball of the innings. Mitchell Marsh looked good for his 15 before departing in the fourth over. Travis Head continued playing his strokes from the other end as Australia ended the powerplay on 63/2. Head was supported brilliantly from the other end by Josh Inglis as they scored at a brisk rate.
The Proteas had no answers to the onslaught from both the Australian batters and the fielding didn’t help them either. They dropped chances and allowed the partnership to grow. Head and Inglis put 85 between them off just 44 balls before the latter holed out in the deep on 42 off 22 balls. Head continued his merry way and didn’t allow the Proteas to get back in the contest.
With five required to win, Head tried to finish things with a six but holed out in the deep. He scored 91 off just 48 balls. His whirlwind knock comprised eight boundaries and six maximums. Tim David also fell on one but Marcus Stoinis made sure that he remained unbeaten on 37 to take his side across the line in the 18th over. Bjorn Fortuin and Geral Coetzee picked up two wickets each but it wasn't enough as the Proteas failed to defend the total.
Earlier, South Africa won the toss and opted to bat first. They didn’t have the best of starts as Temba Bavuma (0) and debutant Matthew Breetzke (5) fell cheaply inside the powerplay. Reeza Hendricks was joined by his skipper Aiden Markram and both led the recovery work as they ended the powerplay, with the scoreboard reading 51/2. Both played some beautiful shots and stitched 58 between them before Markram fell after scoring a 23-ball 41. Australia bounced back by dismissing Hendricks on 42 and picked quick wickets.
Debutant Donovan Ferreira walked out to bat and shifted the momentum back towards the Proteas. He hit sixes for fun. He along with Gerald Coetzee (13) put a brilliant stand of 54 off just 28 balls for the seventh wicket. Ferreira raced to 48 off just 21 balls before getting run out in the final over. His knock helped South Africa post 190 on the board. Australia picked up eight wickets in total, with Sean Abbott finishing with his career-best figures of 4/31 in his four overs.
8:48 PM IST, 5:18 PM Local Time: Time for the post-match presentation.
Aiden Markram (South Africa Captain): "I think we were slightly better today. Not exactly where we want to be but slightly better. We will try to reflect on what went wrong. It looked like we got some momentum initially but credit to Donovan for the way he played on his debut. To get 190, you always take it. But we were pretty much happy with that total.
The ODI series before the World Cup is a big one for us. Try to get the best playing XI and try to take the momentum heading into the World Cup.
The fans have been brilliant, despite the rain around. Not the way we would have liked to play but we will try hard in the future games."
The ODI series before the World Cup is a big one for us. Try to get the best playing XI and try to take the momentum heading into the World Cup.
The fans have been brilliant, despite the rain around. Not the way we would have liked to play but we will try hard in the future games."
Player of the Match: Travis Head
Travis Head (Player of the Match): "Yeah. It's nice to be back and contributing. It has been a bit of a test for me to get back the tempo and talked with some boys and happy with how it went tonight.
The goal has been to attack from the word go and I try to be aggressive right from the start of my innings. The guys are getting opportunities and that shows where we are as a team. They play leagues around the world and Big Bash and it is a good position with World Cup 12 months away."
The goal has been to attack from the word go and I try to be aggressive right from the start of my innings. The guys are getting opportunities and that shows where we are as a team. They play leagues around the world and Big Bash and it is a good position with World Cup 12 months away."
Player of the Series: Mitchell Marsh
Mitchell Marsh (Australia Captain and Player of the Series): "I do enjoy this country. Love touring this country and looking forward to two days off. It is about team effort. We took the game on. The mentality has been positive and it has been great to come here and win the series 3-0.
When I was younger with Perth Scorchers, I was struggling a bit but I have matured now. Also, the coaching staff and support group helps a lot. As I said, it has been a collective effort from all of us.
We are building towards next year's World Cup. There are guys who will be coming back into the squad but really happy to see the new guys stepping up.
When I was younger with Perth Scorchers, I was struggling a bit but I have matured now. Also, the coaching staff and support group helps a lot. As I said, it has been a collective effort from all of us.
We are building towards next year's World Cup. There are guys who will be coming back into the squad but really happy to see the new guys stepping up.
Mitchell Marsh collects the trophy and his teammates join for the photographs. All smiles in the Australian camp as the fireworks go off. An utter domination from the Aussies as they clinch the T20I series by a 3-0 margin.
That's it from all of us for this game. Do join us for more cricketing action all around the globe. For now, this is Akshay Bhide, signing off, on behalf of scorer Paras Yadav. Until next time, cheers and goodbye.