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| March 29, 2006 | Wednesday | Safar 28, 1427 |
Six-wicket Warne seals series for Australia
DURBAN, March 28: Shane Warne grabbed six wickets to spearhead Australia to an unbeatable 2-0 Test series victory over South Africa on Tuesday. Despite stiff resistance shown by the South Africans for most of the final day of the second Test, the Australians surged to victory by 112 runs after leg-spinner Warne claimed six for 86. It was his 35th five-wicket haul in Tests.
The visitors won the first match in the three-Test series by seven wickets in Cape Town. The final Test starts in Johannesburg on Friday.
South Africa, who were set a target of 410, were dismissed for 297 with 6.1 overs left in the match.
Mark Boucher fought hard for his unbeaten 51.
Warne, who began his first spell unchanged from the 16th over before lunch until an hour after tea, bowled to a field that at times featured a silly mid-off, silly point, two slips, a leg slip and a forward short leg.
South Africa resumed on 29 without loss, and A.B. de Villiers and Graeme Smith comfortably negotiated the challenges posed by the Australian seam attack in the first hour.
Warne came on to bowl in the second hour of the day’s play, and he struck with his fourth delivery when De Villiers over balanced as he lunged forward to try and smother a leg-break.
The batsman missed the ball and was stumped by wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist for 46 to end an opening stand of 91.
Warne removed Smith four overs later when the left-hander swept at a leg-break and was caught off the glove by Justin Langer at leg slip for 40.
Jacques Kallis, the mainstay of South Africa’s batting order who scored 114 in the first innings, was Warne’s next victim when he was trapped in front for seven.
South Africa slumped to 122 for four an over later after Herschelle Gibbs, who scored 17, fended a rearing delivery from fast bowler Stuart Clark to Warne at slip.
Ashwell Prince and Jacques Rudolph took South Africa to lunch without further loss, but eight overs into the second session Prince misjudged the bounce of a short delivery from Clark. He sent a looping catch to Michael Hussey at midwicket to be dismissed for seven.
Left-handed Rudolph appeared to be well settled after smashing seven fours in his 36 but an attempt to pad away a fizzing leg-break from Warne backfired. The ball hit his uplifted gloves on its way to Langer at silly point.
South Africa were 181 for seven when fast bowler Brett Lee ripped through Shaun Pollock’s defence with an express delivery to bowl him for four.
Boucher and Nicky Boje stood firm until the 13th over after tea. The partnership was broken when Boje smashed a delivery from fast bowler Michael Kasprowicz to cover, where substitute fielder Michael Clarke held a stinging catch.
Boje’s dismissal for 48, an innings in which he hit nine fours, ended a stand of 72 that stalled Australia’s progress for 83 minutes.
Andre Nel helped Boucher add another 39 runs in 68 minutes before he edged a ball from Warne to Matthew Hayden at first slip to go for 14.
The match ended when Makhaya Ntini left a googly from Warne and was given out lbw for nought.
Boucher batted for 223 minutes, faced 156 balls and hit nine fours.
Gilchrist captained Australia in the absence of Ricky Ponting, who did not take the field because of food poisoning.
Scoreboard
AUSTRALIA (1st Innings) 369 (R.T. Ponting 103, M.E.K. Hussey 75, D.R. Martyn 57).
SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings) 267 (J.H. Kallis 114, A.B. de Villiers 50; B. Lee 5-69).
AUSTRALIA (2nd Innings) 307-4 declared (R.T. Ponting 116, M.L. Hayden 102).
SOUTH AFRICA (2nd innings, overnight 29-0):
A.B. de Villiers st Gilchrist b Warne 46
G.C. Smith c Langer b Warne 40
H.H. Gibbs c Warne b Clark 17
J.H. Kallis lbw b Warne 7
A.G. Prince c Hussey b Clark 7
J.A. Rudolph c Langer b Warne 36
M.V. Boucher not out 51
S.M. Pollock b Lee 4
N. Boje c sub b Kasprowicz 48
A. Nel c Hayden b Warne 14
M. Ntini lbw b Warne 0
EXTRAS (B-5, LB-8, NB-14) 27
TOTAL (all out, 99.5 overs) 297
FALL OF WKTS: 1-91, 2-98, 3-122, 4-122, 5-146, 6-170, 7-181, 8-253, 9-292,
BOWLING: Lee 22-6-65-1 (4nb); Clark 21-6-46-2 (1nb); Symonds 8-0-32-0 (3nb); Warne 35.5-9-86-6; Kasprowicz 12-2-51-1 (6nb); Hussey 1-0-4-0.
UMPIRES: S.A. Bucknor and B. Doctrove (both West Indies).
TV UMPIRE: B.G Jerling (South Africa).
MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Ricky Ponting.
THIRD TEST: Johannesburg, March 31-April 4.—Reuters
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