Kagiso Rabada has spoken about how the Proteas’ bowling attack was ruthless in the face of a brave Australian attempt to hunt down South Africa’s score of 320 in the third ODI in Hobart.
‘It’s never easy coming to Australia. We wanted to keep the momentum we had after Sri Lanka. Everyone played very well so we’re very happy,’ said Rabada.
‘Faf [du Plessis] and David [Miller] kept going and inflicted proper damage at the end there. They won us the game today. As soon as the batters got in, they look rather comfortable. The difference was that Faf and Davey went right through to the end. Our bowling attack spoke about needing to be ruthless. I think we did that today,’ added the paceman, who took 3-40 at an economy rate of four runs to the over to help guide his side to a 40-run victory.
‘Disappointing not to be there at the end. I probably should have tried to go a bit deeper,’ said Shaun Marsh, who scored a defiant 106 to lead Australia’s run-chase. ‘They put us under pressure and we couldn’t get there in the end. Full credit to South Africa. They outplayed us throughout the series.’
Aussie captain Aaron Finch was disappointed to lose the series after their strong comeback in Adelaide where his side had levelled the series at 1-1.
‘Every time you get a couple of set batters at the end of the innings it’s hard to contain,’ said Finch. ‘They bowled exceptionally well at the end, so credit to them in the last 10 overs. After 35 overs we were in a great position but they took it away at the end. With the short boundary, once you get in, you can really cash in. They batted extremely well.
‘[Our] partnership between Marcus [Stoinis] and Shaun [Marsh] was outstanding to give us a chance to launch. If we’d been at that point two down we’d have been [in with] a chance, but it was not to be,’ admitted Finch ruefully.
The Proteas’ tour of Australia ends on Saturday with a one-off T20 match in Carrara.
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