Dial ‘em for murder

How do champions respond to bad patches?

By rising like a phoenix does.
And that is what the Aussies have reiterated today. The punter and his men plundered the South African attack, making the Springboks look like bunch of schoolboys. Ricky Ponting led the rampage with a blazing 164 off 105 balls, as the Aussies carted the sorry South African bowling to all parts of the ground.

Net result: Australia have posted the world’s highest one-day total ever. A staggering 434. This is the first time any side have scored more than 400, the previous best being Sri Lanka’s 398 in the 1996 World Cup.

Needing to win the final game of the series, which is tied 2-2, the Aussies have responded with such character and grit that emphasises their pre-eminence in the game. Gilchrist (55), Katich (79) and Hussey (81, off 51) were the other demolition men.

Leading the honours for the Proteas was Roger Telemachus giving away 87 off his ten overs. Ntini and Hall chipped in with 80 each, while van der Wath and Kallis managed to reached the 70s.

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