Australia v South Africa, 3rd Test Review: Home side restores respect with a consolation win

Australia completed an effortless chase on day four with 7 wickets in hand to register a consolation win in the third and the final Test at the Adelaide Oval. The drama-filled series came to a rather soothing end of the hosts who faced a very tough time overcoming the Proteas challenge.

The day had started with South Africa setting a target of 127 runs. After resuming to bat on 6 for 194 in their second innings, they were allowed to add only 56 for the loss of their last four wickets. The biggest highlight for the visitors would be Stephen Cook who completed his second test century before becoming the last man to fall as South Africa folded for 250. The Proteas bowlers could not create any unexpected turnaround on day four as Matt Renshaw (34*) and skipper Steve Smith (40) piloted the chase without much hassle and helped Australia reach home safely.

Warner was in a no-frill mood and set his eyes right on the target. The vice-captain of the side gave a positive start and quickly began adding runs adding 34 runs for the first wicket before getting runs out in the 19th over. Two balls later, Shamsi got better of Usman Khawaja to add a little bit of spice in the contest.

Renshaw, who played exactly opposite to Warner, looked more than happy to just consume the deliveries while hitting occasional boundaries.  His approach was indeed a good one given the fact that that there was more that 4 sessions to chase down the target and losing unnecessary wicket after a good start would have definitely given some hope to the Proteas.

Renshaw together with skipper Smith added 61 runs for the fourth wicket to finish the game pretty comfortably. Smith was quite unfortunate to lose his wicket just two runs before victory. But, no matter what, he had done his job.

Earlier, Australia continued from where they left yesterday. Late strikes from Nathan Lyon had brought the visitors to their knees. And, today, the fast bowler did the mopping work by cleaning up the lower order in quick time.

Jackson Bird provided the first to break through when he had Quinton de Kock lbw for 5 after he got the on-field not-out decision from Nigel Llong overturned. Vernon Philander then hung around with Cook and put on 34 for the eighth wicket before Starc broke their stand. Starc used the new ball to great effect and speared a full swinging delivery to trapped Philander lbw for 17.

Cook in the meantime reached his hundred from his 235th delivery with a boundary off Josh Hazlewood. It seemed that Cook would carry his bat through the innings but unfortunately was the last man to fall after Starc claimed him with his swing to finish with 4 for 80.

The last four days brought a lot of relief as opposite to the criticism that accompanied their hefty losses at Perth and Hobart. The dismal performances raised big question on Steve Smith leadership and also resulted in chief selector Rod Marsh vacating his place in the selection panel. Faf du Plessis, Lollygate saga did take some attention away from the misery the team was undergoing.

There was obviously panic in the Australian setup as the squad saw a complete makeover with as many as six changes being made in the squad and five in the eleven that played including three debutants. Every possible attempt was made to make sure they didn’t lose the Adelaide game and get whitewashed. And, as it happened, Australia managed to save themselves from a huge embarrassment and can now probably use this win to seek motivation for the upcoming challenging tour of New Zealand.

Brief Scores: 

South Africa: 259/9d (Faf du Plessis 118; Josh Hazlewood 4/68) & 250 (Stephen Cook 105; Mitchell Starc 4/80)

Australia: 383 all out (Usman Khawaja 145; Kagiso Rabada 3/84) & 127/3 (David Warner 47; Shamsi 1/49)

Result:  Australia won by eight wickets

Man of the Match: Usman Khawaja

Man of the Series: Vernon Philander