Australia defeated South Africa in their three-match Twenty20 International series, winning five wickets and sweeping the series thanks to a career-best 91 off 48 balls from left-handed opener Travis Head in Durban on Sunday.
On the little Kingsmead stadium, Australia dominated all three games against a weakened home team. They were superior with the bat, the ball, and in the field, where South Africa was careless.
After deciding to bat first, the hosts scored their highest total of the series, 190 for 8, in their 20 overs. However, it was insufficient, as Australia comfortably reached the mark with 13 balls left.
Beginning on Thursday in Bloemfontein, the teams will play five One-Day International matches in order to prepare for the October 5 commencement of the Cricket World Cup in India.
At the post-match presentation, Mitch Marsh, the new captain of the Australia T20 squad, remarked, “We had a great team effort this tour, we prepared well and took the game on.”
We are preparing for the T20 World Cup in 2019, and I am particularly happy with the guys that have joined the squad and upped their game.”
Donovan Ferreira, a rookie middle-order batsman for South Africa, top-scored with 48 runs from 21 balls before being bowled out in the last over while attempting to pinch the strike.
Other players who started but did not finish with high scores were captain Aiden Markram (41 from 23 balls) and opener Reeza Hendricks (42 from 30 deliveries).
Among the visiting bowlers, seamer Sean Abbott stood out with career-best 4-31 stats.
After reducing Australia to 43 for two in the fifth over, the home team seemed to have optimism, but the visitors were able to maintain the run-rate and never looked threatened.
South Africa lost the match after Josh Inglis and the outstanding Head put up 85 runs in 42 balls for the third wicket. Inglis also chipped in with 42 runs in 22 deliveries.
“Today we made some progress, but we’re still not where we want to be,” Markram said.
“We will need to work on combinations and get our best team out on the field ahead of the World Cup, so the ODI series will be important.”