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Aussies bag win in final ODI

Johannesburg - Australia ended the MTN one-day international series as they started -with a comprehensive 47 run victory over South Africa at the Wanderers on Friday night.

Chasing 304 for victory, South Africa started off reasonably well, but then went down like dominoes, crashing from 188 for three to 256 all out, despite a century partnership between Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis.

Graeme Smith was an early casualty, caught by Brad Haddin for 20 when he went after a wideish delivery from Nathan Bracken in the eighth over.

Gibbs - centurion in the fourth ODI - and Kallis put on 104 for the second wicket before Gibbs perished, leg before wicket to Nathan Hauritz for 82. During the course of his innings, he notched up his 8000th ODI run.

Bracken came back into the attack and captured the scalp of Kallis, caught behind by Haddin for 64 off 69 balls.

Australia then started making serious inroads, with JP Duminy, Mark Boucher and Albie Morkel falling in quick succession.

Ben Laughlin, who earlier in the evening had stopped a six by hitting the ball back onto the field, took a brilliant catch to dismiss Morkel - he leapt high in the air and took the catch, landing just inside the boundary rope, and then kicked the ball in celebration.

With South Africa's big hitters gone, the writing was on the wall, particularly when Roelof van der Merwe was caught by Bracken off Mitchell Johnson, trying for a big hit and being caught on the boundary for three.

Dale Steyn was run out by Michael Hussey, who tossed the ball to Haddin, and the wicketkeeper, with Steyn nowhere in sight, removed the bails with glee.

Makhaya Ntini got a huge welcome from the capacity crowd, and he and Morne Morkel made a spirited effort, with Ntini smashing Johnson for six off extra cover, but it was all in vain. Morkel was the last wicket to fall, when he was caught by David Hussey off Mitchell Johnson for 15.

Johnson took three wickets for 58 runs and Bracken and Hauritz two each.

Earlier, Australia, sent into bat, made a challenging 303 for seven. They got off to a flying start, with an opening partnership of 127 between Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke, who raced to 50 off 44 balls and 100 off 84.

Once again, it was the South African spinners who not only slowed the run rate down, but also took crucial wickets.

However, it was Albie Morkel, who had conceded 11 runs off his first over, who claimed the vital first wicket when JP Duminy caught Haddin for 62.

Left-arm spinner then captured the wickets of Clarke, caught in the deep by Duminy for 66 and Callum Ferguson, who was caught in the covers by De Villiers for 41.

Duminy, normally a part-time spinner, got rid of captain Ricky Ponting, who was caught by Van der Merwe at long on for 40. Ponting's departure prompted a mini collapse, with Australia going from 223 for four to 246 for seven in the space of five overs.

Duminy took two more, dismissing David Hussey, stumped by Boucher for three and Mitchell Johnson, caught and bowled for two. James Hopes was run out for three by a direct hit from De Villiers.

But Michael Hussey and Nathan Hauritz put the Australians back on track with an unbeaten partnership of 57 to take Australia to 303 - a challenging total, but nothing like the record total that had appeared to be on the cards at one stage.

Although South Africa would have been disappointed at losing the final match, they can take comfort from the fact that they have won seven of the 10 ODIs played in Australia and South Africa.

Meanwhile, Cricket South Africa's CEO Gerald Majola congratulated captains Greame Smith and Ricky Ponting for maintaining the "Spirit of Cricket" theme throughout the home and aways tours by South Africa and Australia.

"They provided the leadership that has set new standards for back-to-to-back tours, both in the content of play and the spirit in which the contests took place.

"Both captains had teams in transition, and both showed immense grace under pressure during two tours that saw fortunes swing backwards and forwards.It took plenty of guts and skill from both of them to win Test series away from home, and finally share the overall honours three-all.

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