TNI Bureau: After two drawn matches at Adelaide and Brisbane, South Africa defeated Australia by 309 runs in the third and final Test at Perth to win the series 1-0. Ricky Ponting was left disappointed, as he ended up on the losing side on his farewell Test match.
Chasing a victory target of 632, Australian batsmen fell lick 9 pins and managed to score 322 with some aggression from the tailenders. Mitchell Starc (68 off 43 balls) and Nathan Lyon (31) added 87 runs for the last wicket. Cowan scored 53, while Michael Clarke scored 44.
For South Africa, Steyn and Peterson took three wickets each. Philander and Morne Morkel also took two wickets each. Ponting scored just 4 and 8 in this match.
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Scores:
South Africa 225 (Faf du Plessis (78*; Lyon 3/41, Starc 2/55, Johnson 2/54) & 569 (Smith 84, Amla 196, AB de Villiers 169; Starc 6/154, Johnson 4/110).
Australia 163 (Matthew Wade 68; Steyn 4/40, Philander 2/55, Peterson 3/44) & 322 (Ed Cowan 53, Michael Clarke 44, Starc 68*; Steyn 3/72, Peterson 3/127, Philander 2/41, Morne Morkel 2/57).
Man of the Match: Hashim Amla
Man of the Series: Michael Clarke (576 Runs)