The South Africans pulled off a magnificent victory coming from behind and have clearly wiped out the chokers tag associated with them. They were patchy in the first innings and I thought they let the advantage fritter away after taking three quick wickets on Day 1 and then conceding a lead of 94 runs. That was almost a situation from which very few teams have recovered and against the Aussies at Perth it was a tall order. They chased down 414 quite nicely and the batting of Smith and AB de Villiers was a joy to watch. Fine resolute innings from both these batsmen, who were ably supported by the top order, ensured a record-breaking victory.
I don’t want to take anything away from the South Africans but I think the Australian side is rapidly fading. They don’t have the ability to take 20 wickets consistently and have struggled in the recent past in both batting and bowling department. They have no bowler who is even half as threatening as McGrath and Warne. Hayden, Ponting and Symonds are struggling with their batting form. This is the second test they have lost to visitors at Perth.
We are going to see a change in the rank order of test playing teams pretty soon and Australia is not going to be at the top for long.
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