South Africa takes series after innings win

South Africa beat Australia by an innings and 80 runs to claim its third successive Test series Down Under on Tuesday (November 15), bowling the home side out for just 161 before lunch on the fourth day. The South African pace duo of Kyle Abbott (6 for 77) and Kagiso Rabada (4 for 34) did all the damage, with the last eight Australian wickets falling for 32 runs in 116 balls.

This win followed a 177-run victory against Steven Smith's team in the first Perth Test, with South Africa emulating the West Indies teams of the 1980-1990s with three straight series wins in Australia.

"This cricket team is a tough team to get a win against on their home soil," said Faf du Plessis, the South African captain. "So to come here and do it is special for us. To win a series 2-0 with one game to play, I am very proud of the way the team is moving forward."

This was Australia's fifth consecutive Test defeat this year, after also losing all three Tests in Sri Lanka in August.

"We have to find a way to be a bit more resilient. It seems at the moment, regardless of what the ball is doing, we need to find a way to hit it better," said Smith. "We need to find a way to be successful, because what we are doing at the moment is not working."

The fourth morning began with Australia losing Usman Khawaja to Abbott just 20 minutes in, and that set the tone for South Africa's dominance. Khawaja, beaten twice by Abbott's movement off the pitch, went for a cut off the last ball of the over but could only edge behind to Quinton de Kock. Khawaja's 64 would turn out to be the top score in Australia's second innings, and his wicket was a key moment - ending a 50-run stand with Smith that had sparked some hope for Australia.

The 37-year-old Adam Voges, who had a highest score of 47 in his last 10 innings, came out next determined to make up for his first-innings duck. However, he was late in withdrawing from an attempted pull shot, and the ball flew to JP Duminy at gully after sliding off his bat. Voges left for just 2.

Callum Ferguson also fell to the short ball, bending to evade Rabada only to glove to Dean Elgar at third slip for 1. The short ball brought still more rewards, and Peter Nevill, the wicketkeeper, was the next to go, failing to get out of the way of a Rabada bouncer and gloving to Duminy in the gully for 6. Joe Mennie lasted just two balls before he was leg before to Rabada.

South Africa claimed Smith's prized wicket, caught behind off the rampaging Rabada for 31, after his unbeaten 48 in the first innings shambles.

Mitchell Starc came to the crease but became Abbott's fifth victim, caught behind for a duck, with Nathan Lyon the last man out, giving man-of-the-match Abbott his sixth dismissal of the innings.