Klaasen powers South Africa to ruthless victory
South Africa demolished Australia at Supersport Park, Centurion by 164 runs to make a stunning comeback into the series, equalising 2-2 after being 0-2 down after the first two matches. The win came on the back of Heinrich Klaasen’s brutal 174, featuring an equally fiery 82* by David Miller, both of whom were due a big knock in this series. The two put on a double-century stand, which came off just 87 balls, and essentially batted Australia out of the game by setting them a target of 417. Chasing 417, Australia lost David Warner early trying to get going in a big chase, caught at cover point by David Miller off Lungi Ngidi. Mitchell Marsh followed soon after, caught in front by Lungi Ngidi, and reviewed unsuccessfully, which wasn’t a complete waste, given that it was only clipping leg stump. Travis Head, who had already been struck on the arm once, received another blow on his left hand trying to cut a Gerald Coetzee delivery, and retired hurt in agonising pain. Carey, the next man in, wasn’t mucking around and got on with things, top-edging a fortuitous six off his third ball. However, while Carey kept the boundaries flowing on one end, Marnus Labuschagne soon nicked off to Marco Jansen, and as did Marcus Stoinis to Rabada, 26 runs later, leaving Australia’s chase in tatters. Tim David and Alex Carey gave Australia a glimmer of hope with a stand of 72 runs off 49 balls, and there was an air of panic when Tim David hit Gerald Coetzee for consecutive sixes. However, a stunning catch from Markram sent David on his way, after which the tail was exposed. South Africa didn’t budge, bringing in the big guns to finish the job, as Rabada and Ngidi ran through the tail, aggregating seven wickets between them. Rabada got Carey nicking behind on 99, for what would be the last wicket of the match, given that Travis Head’s injury didn’t allow him to bat again. Earlier, South Africa were asked to bat first and started the innings sedately, before a fifty-run stand was ended by Nathan Ellis who knocked over Reeza Hendricks for 28. de Kock followed soon after, trying to up the ante, and the wicket of Markram caused alarms in the South African camp. However, a fifty from Rassie van der Dussen, managed to rescue South Africa from a hole. This was followed by a historic double-hundred partnership between Heinrich Klaasen (174) and David Miller (82*), off just 87 deliveries, including a jaw-dropping 173 runs in the final 10 overs, resulting in a total of 416-5 in 50 overs – a total that proved more than enough for Australia. This result brings South Africa back into the series, as they equalized 2-2 after being 0-2 down, taking it to the finale at the Wanderers – the very venue where another tie-breaker was played between the two sides over 17 years ago. Brief Scores: (Cricbuzz)
South Africa 416-5 in 50 overs (Heinrich Klaasen 174, David Miller 82*, Josh Hazlewood 2-79) beat Australia 252 all-out in 34.5 overs (Alex Carey 99, Lungi Ngidi 4-51, Kagiso Rabada 3-41) by 164 runs
