Jansen paves the way as Proteas fight back to beat Australia

All-rounder Marco Jansen shone with bat and ball on Sunday, playing a key role as the Proteas closed out a remarkable comeback to beat Australia 3-2 in their five-match ODI series.

Chasing 316 runs to win at the Wanderers, Australia got off to a good start, with opener Mitchell Marsh hitting 71 runs off 56 balls.

Marsh combined with Marnus Labuschagne (44) in a 90-run stand for the third wicket, and it looked like the tourists had laid a solid foundation to put up a fight.

The Australian captain fell in the 20th over, however, and Labuschagne was removed just nine balls later.

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And once they were gone, the rest of Australia’s batting line-up collapsed in a heap, as they lost their last six wickets for just 58 runs with Jansen and spin bowler Keshav Maharaj ripping through the order to secure a convincing 122-run victory for the hosts.

Jansen, playing his 14th ODI, returned career-best figures of 5/39, while Maharaj took 4/33, preventing the tourists from building any momentum in the second half of their innings.

Proteas innings

Earlier, after being sent in to bat, Aiden Markram laid a foundation for the Proteas, contributing 93 runs off 87 balls (including nine fours and three sixes).

Markram shared 109 runs for the fifth wicket with David Miller, who made 63.

Further down the order, Jansen added a quickfire 47 runs, while Andile Phehlukwayo contributed an unbeaten 39 at a strike rate of 205.26, pushing South Africa to a total of 315/9.

Spin bowler Adam Zampa was expensive, going for more than seven runs an over, but he did well to prevent the Proteas from gaining any further momentum at the death, returning 3/71 from his 10 overs.

Ultimately, however, it was a superb all-round effort from South Africa, who had trailed 2-0 after two matches in the ODI series, following their 3-0 defeat in the preceding T20 series.

They will now set their sights on the Cricket World Cup in India, where they will play their first match against Sri Lanka in Delhi on 7 October.

After finding superb form in the latter stages of their home tour, the Proteas will have gained some confidence as they target their first World Cup title in any format.