South Africa took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series of one-day internationals when they beat Australia by 25 runs on Thursday.
Australia, chasing 290 for victory, were restricted to 264 for seven in their 50 overs.
Earlier, Jacques Kallis and A.B. de Villiers led South Africa to 289 for six with classy half-centuries.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The pair came together with the hosts struggling on 50 for two in the 15th over on a slow pitch, but took control with a stand of 114 off 131 balls.
Kallis scored 70 off 86 deliveries with five fours and immediately took the run-rate forward with a series of commanding front-foot drives.
South Africa’s leading run-scorer fell to a soft dismissal, pulling a Brett Geeves long-hop straight to wide mid-on at the end of the 36th over.
De Villiers went on to hit 80 in 87 balls and was out in the 41st over when pace man Mitchell Johnson had him caught off a leading edge, playing too early to the leg-side.
Busy innings in the last five overs by Albie Morkel (29) and Mark Boucher (28 not out) then capitalized on the fine work of the middle order.
Johnson, who used changes of pace to good effect, was difficult to get away and finished with outstanding figures of four for 34.
Australia in reply, slumped to 114 for five before Callum Ferguson (63) and James Hopes (63 not out) gave them hope by adding 97 off 89 balls for the sixth wicket.
Slow left-armer Roelof van der Merwe, who took three for 37, had Ferguson caught at deep extra cover before the brilliant J.P. Duminy produced his second run-out of the innings to remove Johnson for 9.
Hopes collected five fours as he hit his unbeaten 63 in 60 balls.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS