Cricket Australia. (Photo Source: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
A fiery four-fer from Sean Abbott and a blistering 91 from Travis Head helped Australia chase down 191 to beat South Africa by five wickets, eventually whitewashing them 3-0 in the three-match T20I series.
Speaking about the third game, the host won the toss and opted to bat first. South Africa got off to a poor start as Marcus Stoinis picked the first two wickets in his first two overs, Temba Bavuma was out for a golden duck, while Matthew Breetzke got out for five in his T20I debut. Reeza Hendricks and skipper Aiden Markram led the rescue with a 58-run stand before Sean Abbott broke the partnership by picking up Aiden Markram for 41.
Tristan Stubbs then joined Hendricks as the duo added 46 more runs for the fourth wicket before Tanveer Sangha broke the good going partnership by picking Hendricks for 42. In the next over, Sean Abbott struck twice to dismiss Tristan Stubbs (25) and Bijorn Fortruin; all of a sudden SA were left reeling at 122/6. A magnificent 21-ball 48-run knock from Donavon Ferreira on his debut helped South Africa post a massive total of 190/8 in 20 overs. His knock included five sixes and one four. Sean Abbott was the pick of bowlers for his spell of 4/31.
Chasing 191, Australia lost Matthew Short in the very first ball of the innings as Aiden Markram trapped him LBW. Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head kept the scoreboard ticking with a 43-run stand for the second wicket off 24 balls before Gerald Coetzee dismissed Marsh for 15. Josh Inglis then partnered with Head as the duo added 85 runs for the third wicket.
Head got off to his first T20I fifty in the course of the partnership, while Inglis smashed a 22-ball 42 that included four maximums before getting dismissed to Fortuin. Marcus Stoinis joined the party with Head, adding 58 runs for the fourth wicket. Travis Head got dismissed for 91, while Marcus Stoinis remained unbeaten on 37 to help Australia beat South Africa by a margin of five wickets.
Meanwhile, let us look at the stats and numbers from third T20I between South Africa and Australia:
91 – Travis Head registered his first fifty and highest score of 91 in T20 International.
4/31 – The spell of 4/31 by Sean Abbott is his best bowling in T20 Internationals, bettering his previous best of 3/22, which came against South Africa in the previous game.
2 – Australia became the second team after England to white-wash South Africa in the T20I series (with three matches)
2 – Mitchell Marsh became the second Australian Captain after Aaron Finch to be awarded player of the series in T20Is.
5 – Donavon Ferreira smashed five sixes in his 48-run knock, the most sixes hit by a South African batter in his T20I debut. Van der Merwe is next on the list with four sixes against Australia in 2009.
191/5 – Australia chased 191 in the third game. This is the second-highest chase for Australia against South Africa in T20Is—a chase of 205 in Johannesburg in 2016 tops the list.
91 -Travis Head scored 91 runs against South Africa, the second-highest score by an Australian opener against South Africa in T20Is. Damien Martyn tops the list with 96 runs in Brisbane in 2006.
6 -Temba Bavuma registered his sixth duck in T20I, the joint highest ducks by a South African batter in T20Is along with Quinton de Kock, Jean Paul Duminy and Andile Phehlukwayo