Carey, Marsh lead Australia to consolation win in rain-hit game

In the third and final match of the three-match ODI series, which was played in Potchefstroom due to rain, Australia won to prevent South Africa from completing a perfect sweep. The ODI that had a delayed start due to wet outfield following afternoon showers couldn't go on beyond 28 overs of South Africa's chase, giving the visitors a 45-run win via DLS method. Australia reached a strong total of 322/9 thanks to a combined batting effort. In response, South Africa were a batter short as Tony de Zorzi was out midway through the game with a hamstring injury. Ryan Rickelton made a case in chase as his unbeaten 71 dragged the team along. But when the rain break came and brought an end to the proceedings, the home side were well short of the par-score.

With the threat of rain looming large, Aiden Markram, standing in for Temba Bavuma, asked Australia to bat first after South Africa made five changes with an eye on the upcoming Test series. Australia made changes too but what remained constant was the runs flowing off Mitchell Marsh's bat. He raced to his third successive fifty of the series - off 33 balls - in just the eighth over. At the other end, Travis Head was a content, risk-free passenger until he hit Corbin Bosch with a single in the ninth over. Australia slowed down from here on, and Bjorn Fortuin then trapped Marsh leg before in the 14th over. Cooper Connolly found it hard to find any rhythm and meandered along until the 18th over when Gerald Coetzee cleaned him up.

The impressive Oliver Peake and Alex Carey then dragged Australia out of the quicksand they seemed to be slipping into, with a solid 73-run partnership. Just as Peake was inching towards his maiden ODI fifty, a stunning take at point from Fortuin gave Bosch another wicket and the Australian the marching orders two short of the milestone. Australia rebuilt again, through Matt Renshaw and Carey who put on a brisk 66 off 62 deliveries. They dragged Australia past 250 in the 41st over but Renshaw became Coetzee's second wicket in the 42nd over. Australia managed to score 72 from the last 60 deliveries that took them to 322/9.

South Africa suffered an early stutter. Quinton de Kock flicked a ball from Xavier Bartlett to deep backward square leg in the opening over to fall for a duck. Bartlett trapped Markram's leg in the sixth over, leaving South Africa reeling at 30/2. To make matters worse, the hosts didn't have regular No.4 de Zorzi to call on, as he was out of the game with a hamstring injury.

Rickelton and Matthew Breetzke resurrected the chase with a measured 72-run partnership before they ran into Adam Zampa. The leggie first had Breetzke out stumped and then trapped Tristan Stubbs leg before. As rain clouds hovered over, the flurry of wickets tipped the scales in Australia's favour. When the players were forced off the field, Rickelton was still fighting and South Africa - at 145/4 in 28 overs - weren't out of the game yet. However, according to the DLS method, they were still far behind the par score. That eventually became the marker for the result as rain continued to pelt down at Potchefstroom.