Australia vs South Africa: Australia win the series against South Africa by humiliating them again
After three straight home defeats to South Africa, Australia took an unassailable 2-0 lead to Sydney after a dominant performance at the MCG.
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David Warner scored a remarkable double century.Steve Smith made the win perfect just before 3.30 pm when he bowled a looping leg break to the last man, Lungi Ngidi, to secure victory four match days after the series opener in Brisbane was decided after just two days.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Utterly dominant Australia win the Test series against South Africa 👊 🇦🇺 <a href="https://t.co/VHn8vk0H9o">pic.twitter.com/VHn8vk0H9o</a></p>— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNcricinfo/status/1608317813932064768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Smith's second Test scalp in more than six years took away his teammate Nathan Lyon's chance to finish 2022 as the leading Test wicket-taker. With his 3-58 today, Lyon finished the year with 47 points, drawing level with South Africa's Kagiso Rabada.
David Warner received the Mullagh Medal for his valiant 200-run innings while batting in the scorching heat during his 100th Test, earning him the right to be chosen player of the game.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Souvenir from Davey’s 100th 😂 <a href="https://twitter.com/davidwarner31?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@davidwarner31</a> <a href="https://t.co/pp7yV3X1Br">pic.twitter.com/pp7yV3X1Br</a></p>— Marnus Labuschagne (@marnus3cricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/marnus3cricket/status/1608372187391758336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Proteas' score of 204 included a series of other disastrous failures, including 3-18 in the crucial first session today and 4-30 in fewer than nine overs to complete the capitulation.
The all-rounder Cameron Green, who had a finger broken in his unbeaten 51 and had taken 5-27 in the first innings, was also ruled out.
The result means South Africa have suffered their worst defeats against those opponents since the summer of 2001-02 when Australia cruised to a 3-0 win by a margin of nine wickets, ten wickets, and 246 runs.
The final Test in Sydney begins on 3 January.
Australia vs South Africa, MCG
South Africa 189 (Green 5-27) & 204 (Bavuma 65, Lyon 3-58)
Australia 575-8 Dec (Warner 200, Carey 111, Smith 85)
Australia win by an inning and 182 runs.