CAPE TOWN – Proteas spearhead Kagiso Rabada has praised his fellow bowlers for being “ruthless” in the series-deciding ODI against Australia on Sunday.
South Africa clinched their first ODI series victory Down Under since 2008-09 when the bowling unit delivered another superb performance to restrict the hosts to 280/9. This was after captain Faf du Plessis (125) and David Miller (139) had earlier combined superbly for a match-winning 252-run partnership that powered the Proteas to 320/6.
Rabada (3/40) and fellow paceman Dale Steyn (3/45) claimed six Australian wickets between them, while all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius chipped in with two important scalps too.
"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. Faf and David kept going and inflicted proper damage at the end there. They won us the game,” Rabada said.
"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."
Kagiso Rabada celebrates the dismissal of Chris Lynn of Australia during the second ODI match against Australia on Sunday. Photo: EPA/David Mariuz
Centurion Miller was also paid credit to the Proteas’ bowling unit, admitting the partnership between Shaun Marsh (108) and Marcus Stoinis (63) had “put a bit of scare into us”.
"It's always a great feeling to contribute, and when you win it's sweeter. We were in a little bit of trouble so nice to bat some time. Wanted to extend the partnership as much as we could. Nice to make it a big one. They put a bit of a scare into us, but credit to our bowlers who have been fantastic the whole series," the powerful left-hander said.
The players will enjoy a week break before the once-off T20 against the Aussies on the Gold Coast in Brisbane before flying home to compete in the Mzansi T20 League.