By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Glenn Maxwell produced an unbeaten half-century in a tense chase to help the hosts edge out South Africa by two wickets in the third and final T20 international in Cairns on Saturday.
Maxwell’s unbeaten 62 off 36 balls helped Australia chase down 173 with one ball to spare at the Cazalys Stadium, completing a 2-1 series victory in style.
After 18 overs, it was a run-a-ball target for Australia with Maxwell in the middle. The South African bowler Corbin Bosch (three for 26) claimed two wickets and kept Maxwell away from the strike. Needing 10 off the last over from Lungi Ngidi, Maxwell took six from the first four balls before reverse-sweeping for four to seal Australia’s dramatic victory.
“It was a little bit nerve-wracking,” Maxwell said.
“I probably had to do the majority of the striking but, yeah, it was nice to get a couple out of the middle right near the end.”
Earlier, Dewald Brevis’ 26-ball 53 and Rassie van der Dussen’s 38 not out had taken South Africa to 172-7 after Australia sent them out to bat first.
“Without [Maxwell] playing a blinding innings, I wouldn’t be standing up here, so there’s been contributions from everyone in our team throughout this series and we’ve had so much fun,” said player of the series Tim David.
David had hit a 52-ball 83 as Australia won the first T20 in Darwin by 17 runs, before South Africa levelled the series with a 53-run victory at the same venue this week.
The teams will remain in Cairns to play the first of three one-day internationals on Tuesday before travelling to Queensland.