Wed, 09 Nov 2011- South Africa vs Australia,Australia Tour of South Africa 2011-12, 1st Test Match -

Day 3: South Africa*: 96 - 236 / 2 in 50.2 overs RR: 4.69, South Africa*: 96 - 236 / 2 in 50.2 overs RR: 4.69

Smith, Amla give SA famous victory

In an anti-climax of sorts, South Africa coasted to victory on the third morning of what has been an extraordinary Test match at Newlands. Needing 155 more after they had made it to 81 for 1 yesterday, the home side overhauled the target with some dominant batting coming from Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith, both of whom powered their way to three figures as South Africa romped home with eight wickets just before Lunch.

After 23 wickets went down on a madcap day two, the match was bound to finish inside three days but the way Smith and Amla went after the Australian bowlers, it was a stamp of authority especially after they were shot out for 96 less than 24 hours earlier. Credit must also go to the South African bowlers who skittled Australia for only 47, their lowest total in about a century to set up a victory of epic proportions.

On any other surface, the hosts would have started the day as hot favorites to take lead in the series but yesterday’s frequent collapses still gave Australia hope of turning around things with a ball that was only 17 overs old. Expectedly, the two overnight batsmen started cautiously, scoring only 31 runs in the first 14 overs.

Hashim Amla, dropped on the last ball yesterday made most of the second life by playing a superb innings. After withering the initial burst from Australian pacers, Amla got stuck into Mitchell Johnson driving him twice through the off-side to reach fifty off 81 deliveries. Then he simply cut loose and attacked almost anything pitched in his half, employing the punch drive instead of the conventional one to punish the Australian bowlers.

The flurry of boundaries from Amla’s bat, 21 in total shut the door for Australia. After trailing his partner for mot part of the innings, Amla was the first to reach three figures with another eye-catching drive and eventually was caught at gully for 112 not before taking his team to the brink.

Meanwhile, Smith was more restrained in his approach, but still managed to score at a healthy rate. Starting on his overnight 36, Smith was circumspect to start with but once runs started to flow at the other end, he too played his shots. Having come into this game after a lean patch, Smith understandably banked on his strengths as most of his runs came on the leg side.

The gap between mid-on and mid-wicket was exploited to good effect as the South African skipper played the anchor role to perfection while Amla was going great guns. When he brought up his 23rd century in Tests with a single, the team was just one run away from a famous victory. And, the captain had played a key role by adding 195 for the second wicket with Amla.

While the action lasted only six sessions, the match had enough twists to better any T20.

Day 2: Bulletin on next page