11 March, 2009

Australia claimed the three wickets they needed in the final hour before tea to win the second Test match against South Africa by 175 runs and seal an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The host came into the final day in Durban with hopes of gaining a draw but lost the key wicket of Jacques Kallis (93) early in the first session and never looked like saving the game thereafter.

Only Mark Boucher put up any resistance for the hosts with a gritty 107-ball 25.

The tourists skittled the Proteas for 370 for nine - Graeme Smith not coming out to bat due to a broken finger - with Simon Katich claiming three wickets to help his side retain their world number one ranking with the final Test in Cape Town still to come.

Resuming the final day on 244 for two, Kallis was soon dropped for the second time in the innings, this time by Michael Clarke after also being let off the hook by Marcus North when on nought yesterday.

This time the missed chance was not so costly, however, as Kallis fell in the next over when he tried to fend off a Mitchell Johnson delivery but found captain Ricky Ponting at second slip.

Kallis' demise just seven short of a ton broke a fighting 187-run partnership with AB de Villiers, and with it seemed to signal the end of the hosts' resistance.

De Villiers followed a short time later for 84 when he received an almost unplayable delivery from Peter Siddle that he deflected to Brad Haddin behind the stumps.

The Australian wicketkeeper then dropped JP Duminy off the same bowler when the ball slipped through his gloves with the batsman on six.

But Haddin made amends when a Ben Hilfenhaus bouncer gave Duminy no chance of getting his gloves out of the way and he edged behind for 17.

With lunch on the horizon, Ponting threw the ball to Katich who struck with his second delivery when a thick edge from Paul Harris (5) was snapped up by Siddle running back from mid-on.

Boucher and Morne Morkel dug in after lunch, the pair batting for over an hour before the former tried to turn North onto the leg side only to send a leading edge back to the bowler.


Morkel followed a short time later when he edged onto his pads and Haddin managed to trap the ball between his legs to send the batsman back to the pavilion for 24.

Dale Steyn was last man to fall when he attempted to swing Katich across the line and was stumped by Haddin.

Katich was the pick of the Australia bowlers with three for 45, while Siddle also claimed three at the cost of 61 runs.