An epic Test, this, kept us on our seats till the last ball was bowled. Despite losing Pattinson, Australia will think they should have won this Test after having South Africa four down at stumps on the fourth day. Both teams gave it their all on the final day - Australia threw everything they had at South Africa, and South Africa were determined to save the game. Du Plessis is the hero, the and clearly the Man of the Match for his performance in both innings. What a sparkling debut. Spare a thought for Siddle, he somehow conjured up the energy for a final burst and removed Kleinvedlt with a beauty but Morne Morkel held his ground. Du Plessis had good support throughout his battle today - there was AB, of course, followed by a 99-run stand with Kallis who fought through injury, and Steyn and Kleinveldt hung around for long enough before Morkel saw him through to stumps.

Thanks for tuning in and sending us your feedback. The Perth Test gets underway on the 30th and the series is still open. Do join us then. Brydon Coverdale's final report is getting updated. Watch out for some stats highlights from the game as well - plenty in there, given how long South Africa batted. Thanks again.

147.6

•

Siddle to Morkel, no run

shortish on the off and Morkel knocks it down into the off side

Siddle runs in for the final ball

Theoretically still possible for Australia with a ball remaining, but South Africa have fought superbly

147.5

Siddle to Morkel, FOUR runs

pitched up and that's the Test saved right there, pitched up and it's driven through cover for a boundary

Siddle needs two in two...

147.4

Siddle to Morkel, FOUR runs

full toss and South Africa get the single, no they don't, it's pushed firmly and beats mid-off and even though it slows down, the Australians allow it to go for four to keep Morkel on strike

Three slips and a gully, a short leg

The crowd went silent the moment that was defended...three more balls, two wickets to get

147.3

•

Siddle to Morkel, no run

angling in towards middle, short of a good length and he meets it with a straight bat

147.2

•

Siddle to Morkel, no run

bangs that one short on middle and he manages to duck under that one, tall man Morkel and he dealt with it well

Three slips and a short leg...

147.1

•

Siddle to Morkel, no run

fires it full outside off and he defends it towards cover

Siddle's going to go for it. One last over, one last attempt at winning this for Australia. The Adelaide crowd is egging him on. A couple of minutes left. Morkel to face. Tense faces in the South African dressing room

end of over 147Maiden

SA: 240/8CRR: 1.63

Faf du Plessis110 (376b 14x4)

Morne Morkel0 (6b)

Nathan Lyon 50-31-49-3

Peter Siddle 32-15-57-4

146.6

•

Lyon to du Plessis, no run

bowled that full outside off and that's dug out into the off side

146.5

•

Lyon to du Plessis, no run

tossed up on the off stump and he pushes it back down the pitch

146.4

•

Lyon to du Plessis, no run

keeps a little low as it turns in, turned into the leg side

146.3

•

Lyon to du Plessis, no run

tossed it up on the off, gets across and pushes it back to the bower

146.2

•

Lyon to du Plessis, no run

pitched up outside off and that's defended wide of extra cover

146.1

•

Lyon to du Plessis, no run

floating it on middle and defends it back to the bowler

Faf to face one over, four more minutes to go, can Australia squeeze in a couple of overs here?

end of over 146Maiden

SA: 240/8CRR: 1.64

Morne Morkel0 (6b)

Faf du Plessis110 (370b 14x4)

Peter Siddle 32-15-57-4

Nathan Lyon 49-30-49-3

145.6

•

Siddle to Morkel, no run

beaten, kicked off a good length and beat the outside edge, almost had a wicket he so deserved, a marathon spell and an excellent performance

Siddle's jogging back....

145.5

•

Siddle to Morkel, no run

angling in towards middle, still bowling at 138.5kmph, defended towards extra cover

145.4

•

Siddle to Morkel, no run

full toss outside off and he punches it into the ground to play it to extra cover

145.3

•

Siddle to Morkel, no run

ooh, just went past the outside edge, angling in and then moving away, pushed at it, risky from Morkel and that didn't miss the edge by much

145.2

•

Siddle to Morkel, no run

ooh, risky, full outside off and Morkel chases it, keeps it down though, gets it towards point, prevents the single does Warner by diving to his right

145.1

•

Siddle to Morkel, no run

goodish length outside off, rocks forward and defends with a straight bat

Eight minutes to go, two wickets to get, Morkel to face. He, too, can bat, but this is serious pressure. Credit to Kleinveldt for hanging around for six overs, though more would have been expected. Morkel to face Siddle, this could be his last over today, Goes round the wicket. Three slips

end of over 145Maiden

SA: 240/8CRR: 1.65

Faf du Plessis110 (370b 14x4)

Morne Morkel0 (0b)

Nathan Lyon 49-30-49-3

Peter Siddle 31-14-57-4

144.6

•

Lyon to du Plessis, no run

flatter around off stump, gets across and pushes it down the pitch

144.5

•

Lyon to du Plessis, no run

tossed up outside off, lands full and he dabs it into the off side

Read full commentary

Best performances - batters

Spike Graph

Wagon Zone

MJ Clarke

AUS

230 runs (257)

40 fours1 six

Productive shot

off side drive on front foot

67 runs

12 fours1 six

Control

86%

GC Smith

122 runs (244)

14 fours0 six

Productive shot

leg glance

59 runs

4 fours0 six

Control

91%

Best performances - bowlers

M Morkel

146

ECO

4.86

PM Siddle

AUS

ECO

1.96

View more stats

Match details

Adelaide Oval
Toss	Australia, elected to bat first
Series	South Africa tour of Australia
Season	2012/13
Player Of The Match	Faf du Plessis
Series result	3-match series level 0-0
Match number	Test no. 2061
Hours of play (local time)	10.30am start, Lunch 12.30-13.10, Tea 15.10-15.30, Close 17.30
Match days	22,23,24,25,26 November 2012 - day (5-day match)
Test debut	Faf du Plessis
Umpires	Billy Bowden Richard Kettleborough
TV Umpire	Asad Rauf
Reserve Umpire	John Ward
Match Referee	Ranjan Madugalle

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Videos

All Match Videos

6:18

'South Africa have to be more proactive'

6:59

Not at our best, but still unbeaten - Smith

4:18

Adelaide was example of how hard Test cricket is - Clarke

South Africa Innings

PLAYER NAME		R	B
AN Petersen	bowled	24	62
GC Smith	caught	0	2
HM Amla	caught	17	28
JA Rudolph	caught	3	34
AB de Villiers	bowled	33	220
F du Plessis	not out	110	376
JH Kallis	caught	46	110
DW Steyn	caught	0	28
RK Kleinveldt	bowled	3	17
M Morkel	not out	8	12
Extras	(b 1, lb 1, nb 1, w 1)
Total	248(8 wkts; 148 ovs)

PLAYER NAME	O	M	R	W	Econ
BW Hilfenhaus	34	16	65	1	1.91
PM Siddle	33	15	65	4	1.96 (1 nb)
MJ Clarke	18	5	34	0	1.88
NM Lyon	50	31	49	3	0.98
DA Warner	6	0	29	0	4.83
RJ Quiney	6	3	4	0	0.66
RT Ponting	1	1	0	0	0

WKT	RUNS	PLAYERS
1st	3	Graeme Smith	Alviro Petersen
2nd	33	Hashim Amla	Alviro Petersen
3rd	9	Jacques Rudolph	Alviro Petersen
4th	0	Alviro Petersen	AB de Villiers
5th	89	AB de Villiers	Faf du Plessis
6th	99	Jacques Kallis	Faf du Plessis
7th	1	Faf du Plessis	Dale Steyn
8th	6	Rory Kleinveldt	Faf du Plessis
9th	8	Faf du Plessis	Morne Morkel

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