All-round Jansen shines as South Africa complete series victory

South Africa completed their comeback in
the fifth and final ODI against Australia in Johannesburg, overturning a 2-0
deficit to win the series with a thumping 122-run victory on Sunday. Marco
Jansen starred with both bat and ball for the Proteas in the decider, scoring a
23-ball 47 to back up half-centuries from Markram and Miller in the first
innings before taking his maiden ODI five-fer to bowl Australia out for 193 in
response.

Chasing 316, Australia blazed their way to
34/0 in three overs before Jansen struck a pair of timely blows. The left-armer
had David Warner cutting one to Markram at point before removing Josh Inglis three
balls later, who chopped a short one onto his stumps.

Mitchell Marsh didn’t let the early
breakthroughs deter his confidence, with the skipper spurring Australia on in
the chase alongside Marnus Labuschagne. Opening in the absence of the injured
Travis Head, Marsh extended his golden run in South Africa, smashing six fours
and six sixes in an entertaining 56-ball 71. However, Jansen returned to remove
the captain, with Marsh upper-cutting one to Lungi Ngidi on the fence.

The all-rounder compounded Australia’s woes
in his next over by removing Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey to complete his
five-wicket haul, leaving the visitors reeling at 136/5. Keshav Maharaj took
over the reins from Jansen following Carey’s departure, with the spinner
dismissing the last two recognised batters – Tim David and Cameron Green – and
adding a pair of tail-enders to bowl Australia out for 193 in 34.1 overs.

Earlier, the Proteas got off to a poor
start to their batting innings with Temba Bavuma run-out for a duck and only 32
runs scored in the powerplay. The hosts were struggling at 103/4 after 23.2
overs following the big wicket of Heinrich Klaasen, but Aiden Markram and David
Miller resurrected their innings with a century stand.

The pair struggled at times with the slow
nature of the pitch but set the perfect foundation for the lower-order to
maximise the death overs. Jansen cashed in after the wicket of Markram for 93,
with the all-rounder scoring a career-best 47 off 23 balls. The all-rounder was
well backed up by David Miller and Andile Phehlukwayo, who cleared the ropes
four times to help the Proteas score 34 off the final 12 balls and post a
winning total of 315, giving South Africa a timely boost in their final ODI
before the World Cup.