It was hard to comprehend whether the second Formula One race of the season in Malaysia had caused the South Africans to rev up their game. The race did not last long, neither did the Australia’s celebration.
While torrential rain put paid to a full race in Malaysia, the downpour of bowling discipline from South Africa and injudicious batting from Australia dampened the contest within the first ten overs of the match in Centurion.
Dale Steyn picked up Brad Haddin and nineteen year old Wayne Parnell got into the act, soon overshadowing his more illustrious partner. He dismissed the likes of Michael Clarke, Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey and Australia were being destroyed after their glorious 145 run victory just two days ago.
Humiliation was not the word as Australia stuttered at five down for just nineteen runs in only the eighth over. This after Ricky Ponting and his men regained the number one tag in the ICC ODI rankings after winning the first ODI.
The match appeared to have ended even before it began. While Parnell and Steyn extracted prodigious swing and pace, the Australians had as much themselves to blame over lackadaisical shot selection, perhaps prompted by their colossal victory in Durban.
Callum Ferguson, with a half century, and Mitchell Johnson, batting for thirty, only lengthened the Australians’ stay at the crease but could not push Australia into a more competitive zone. Australia could only manage 131, as they folded their innings rather desolately in the forty-first over.
South Africa had little trouble chasing down the modest runs even though they lost Herschelle Gibbs early. Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers shared the run tally between them to get South Africa to a facile victory in just twenty-seven overs.
Parnell did try for a five-fer after he demolished the top order, but in the end, shared the honours with Steyn who also picked up four wickets to annihilate the Australians.
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