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.