ODI 5 Fulltime: Debutant Tsotsobe Scripts South African Fairy Tale Win

A bunch of second string players led by an unknown, unsure captain – that was the verdict of most cricket commentators as South African began the second chapter of their now historic tour to Australia. That has all changed now.

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WACA, Perth saw an even ‘weaker’ South African eleven expose the ordinariness of the Australian performance at the moment. Set a daunting target to chase, the highest of the series so far, Australia faltered very early into the game as debutant Lonwabo Tsotsobe struck to remove Shaun March caught at mid wicket and then had the Australian skipper Ricky Ponting second guessing and miscuing a pull shot that wicket keeper AB de Villiers took running backwards. David Warner's belligerence was run out at the non striker's end as Wayne Parnell's hand brushed the ball on the way to the stumps at the other end.

From 3 for thirty- five to four down for fifty-three in the thirteen over, Australia appeared all but buried. But the Hussey brothers strung together a partnership that only again spelt hope in the Australian dressing room. Mike Hussey’s seventy-eight and David Hussey’s thirty-two was followed up by Brad Haddin’s sixty-three. But Australia were stopped in their tracks by Tsotsobe getting rid of Michael Hussey to a foxing slower delivery while being taken for nineteen runs in the batting power play over and the other debutant Wayne Parnell accounting for Haddin. The skipper Johan Botha himself kept a tight leash on the innings and did not allow the Australia to get away despite stringing those partnerships in the middle. Tsotsobe's four wickets were edged out only by Hashim Amla's ninety-seven for the man of the match.

Australia’s run was always against the flow and it was only a matter of time before they slipped to all out for 249 in 49 overs, a comprehensive, even clinical finish by thirty-nine runs for a series victory to South Africa to go 4-1 and raucously on the top of the world literally!

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