Australia continued to dominate South Africa in their own backyard as they achieved a thumping 5-wicket win over the hosts in the third and final T20I and sealed the series 3-0 in a historic whitewash on Sunday, September 3. This was the first-ever clean sweep by Australia against South Africa in the T20 format and a great honour for Mitchell Marsh as well, who captained the national side for the first time in the format after Aaron Finch’s retirement.
After two poor outings in the first two games, South Africa bounced back in style with the bat with skipper Aiden Markram, debutant Donovan Ferreira, Tristan Stubbs and Reeza Hendricks all contributing to guide their side to a strong total of 190 runs on a good Kingsmead wicket in Durban. Ferreira on debut looked like a veteran of 20-30 games as he ripped apart Australia’s death bowling with a quickfire knock of 48 off just 21 balls, hitting five sixes. Sean Abbott was the best bowler for Australia on the day with four wickets and was probably the reason why South Africa didn’t cross 200.
The Proteas got a dream start with the ball as skipper Markram sent back explosive opener Matt Short for a duck in the very first over. However, his opening partner Travis Head was in the mood on the night as he took off and kept punishing the South African bowlers. Marsh, who was the hero with the bat in the first two games, didn’t do much but he didn’t need to as Head was in an overdrive mode.
Head found an able ally in wicketkeeper Josh Inglis, who too showed why the Australian management is trusting him to do the job in the shortest format. Head and Inglis stitched an 85-run stand in just seven overs as the duo broke open the game. Marcus Stoinis came in at No. 5, he didn’t let the momentum go the other way and played a quickfire 21-ball 37.
Head, on the other hand, kept smashing and even though he missed his well-deserved maiden T20I ton, his personal best in the format for Australia was enough to take his side home. The two teams will now be involved in a five-match ODI series starting September 7, which will be crucial in both their preparations for the World Cup as their big guns return.
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