Australia defeated South Africa in the third T20I at Newlands in Cape Town on Wednesday by 97 runs and clinched the T20I series 2-1.
Opener David Warner (57 off 37) and skipper Aaron Finch (55 off 37) directed their team to a mammoth score of 193/5. In reply, the Proteas were bundled out for 96 as Aussie spinner Ashton Agar and pacer Mithcell Starc claimed three wickets each.
Finch, who scored a commendable 111 runs at an average of 37.00 and a strike rate of 146.05, was rewarded with the ‘Player of the series’ award. However, the Australian skipper was surprised as well as shocked after being adjudged the ‘Man of the Series’ over his team-mate, Agar.
“He was clearly a man of the series, it is a bit embarrassing (to be named player of the series) when he has had the series that he has. He was outstanding,” Finch said at the trophy presentation.
Agar took eight wickets at an average of 8.50. He became the first Australian man to take a T20I hat-trick since Brett Lee in 2007. He also claimed his first-ever five-wicket haul in the shortest format of the game.
Both Australia and South Africa will now lock horns on Saturday (Feb 29) at Boland Park in Paarl for the first One-Day International (ODI) game of the three-match series.
