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| January 7, 2006 | Saturday | Zilhaj 6, 1426 |
Ponting’s back-to-back centuries seal series
SYDNEY, Jan 6: Ricky Ponting completed back-to-back centuries to crush South Africa’s hopes of squaring the series as Australia came from behind to win the Third and final Test by eight wickets at the Sydney Cricket Ground Friday.
The Australian skipper, in the richest scoring form of his career and playing his 100th Test, cashed in on a declaration gamble by South Africa’s Graeme Smith to propel his team to victory with 15.3 overs to spare on the final day.
Australia finished on 288 for two after being set 287 off 76 overs. It was the highest winning chase in the last innings at the SCG, bettering Australia’s 276 for four against England in February 1898.
The milestones kept crashing for 31-year-old Ponting in the Test, following up his 120 in the first innings with an unconquered 143 off 159 balls with 16 fours for his 28th Test hundred.
It gave Australia a 2-0 win in the three-match series after winning the second Melbourne Test by 184 runs, but Friday’s victory was only possible after Smith’s declaration in the rain-affected match.
Man-of-the-series Ponting said Smith had no alternative but to set Australia a run chase to revive the Test that had looked destined for a draw after South Africa’s first innings declaration of 451 for nine over 11 hours.
“There was no other way he (Smith) could have gone,” Ponting said. “That was the only chance they had of winning the Test match. The longer they batted this morning the shorter the run chase, the easier it was going to be for us.
“It was the way the game was going and with the loss of all the time yesterday with the weather, Graeme was pretty much forced into doing it that way this morning.”
Smith defended his decision, saying playing positive cricket was only way to go.
“Everyone in the whole team wanted to be positive this morning and go for a win,” Smith said. “Cricket needs positive games, it doesn’t need teams batting out and drawing games. To set a declaration and try to go for a win was in our minds the only way to play.
“Yes, we’ve lost but we’ve said throughout the game that the difference between 1-0 and 2-0 for us is nothing. It’s still a loss of a series.”
Ponting was the dominating figure of the series with 117 in Melbourne and his two hundreds here to finish with 515 runs at an average of 103.
Since returning from the Ashes series loss in England last September, Ponting has accumulated five centuries in seven Tests and is just one century behind Don Bradman’s 29 Test tons and four behind leading Australian Steve Waugh’s 32. Indian Sachin Tendulkar has the most with 35.
Ponting also went past Englishman David Gower to become the 10th all-time leading runscorer in Test cricket with 8,253 runs.
It was Australia’s eighth win over South Africa in their last 11 Tests, with two drawn and the last loss coming in Durban in March 2002.
Smith threw down the gauntlet, setting the Australians a generous asking rate of 3.77 runs an over with his declaration at 194 for six, made much earlier than expected an hour before lunch.
But his bowlers were incapable of forcing a result on an easy-paced wicket and Ponting put on a match-winning 182-run second-wicket partnership with Matthew Hayden to seize the momentum and cruise home.
Hayden was poised for his 26th Test century before he miscued off-spinner Johan Botha and skied a catch to Smith at backward point for 90.
Australia lost their other wicket with Justin Langer going in the over before lunch for 20, with all his scoring shots coming from five boundaries. Langer was bowled by a beautiful outswinger from Charl Langeveldt.
At the time of the South African declaration — their second of the match — first innings centurion Jacques Kallis was unbeaten on 50 off 96 balls with Shaun Pollock not out 26 off 21 balls.
Leg-spinner Stuart MacGill picked up three wickets in his first four overs as the South Africans pursued quick runs to set up the declaration. He finished with 3-33.
Australia and South Africa will join Sri Lanka in a triangular one-day series in January-February before playing a three-Test and one-day series in South Africa in February-March.
Scoreboard
South Africa (1st innings) 451 for 9 declared (A. Prince 119, J. Kallis 111; B. Lee 3-82)
Australia (1st innings 359) (R. Ponting 120, A. Gilchrist 86; A. Nel 4-81)
South Africa (2nd innings) (94 for 3 overnight)
G. Smith lbw b McGrath 5
AB de Villiers lbw b Lee 1
H. Gibbs run out (Hodge) 67
J. Kallis not out 50
A. Prince c Ponting b MacGill 18
J. Rudolph c McGrath b MacGill 4
M. Boucher stpd Gilchrist b MacGill 11
S. Pollock not out 26
Extras (b3, lb4, w3, nb2) 12
Total (6 wkts declared, 42 overs) 194
Fall of wkts: 1-4, 2-6, 3-92, 4-123, 5-129, 6-152
Bowling: McGrath 15-2-61-1 (1nb), Lee 10-3-48-1 (1nb), Warne 11-1-45-0 (3w), MacGill 6-1-33-3
Australia (2nd innings)
J. Langer b Langeveldt 20
M. Hayden c Smith b Botha 90
R. Ponting not out 143
B. Hodge not out 27
Extras (lb1, w3, nb4) 8
Total (2 wkts, 60.3 overs) 288
Fall of wkts: 1-30, 2-212
Bowling: Pollock 14-2-55-0 (2nb 1w), Langeveldt 14-1-52-1 (2nb), Nel 7-0-46-0, Botha 12.3-0-77-1 (1w), Kallis 2-0-8-0, Rudolph 11-0-49-0 (1w)
Man-of-the-match: Ricky Ponting (AUS)
Man-of-the-series: Ricky Ponting
Umpires: Billy Bowden (NZL), Aleem Dar (PAK)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG).
—Agencies
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