Cameron White made an unbeaten 41 to steer Australia to a two-wicket win over South Africa with a ball to spare in the third Twenty20 cricket international on Sunday and to a 2-1 win in the three-match series.
Australia stumbled to 62-4 after 8.1 overs, chasing South Africa's inadequate total of 145-6, before White struck his 41 runs from 31 balls with four fours and a six to decide the match and series.
He took a single from the fifth ball of a tense final over, superbly bowled by Kyle Abbott, to carry Australia past South Africa's tally in a breathless finish. White won the man of the match award.
Australia had needed 10 runs from the last two overs with three wickets in hand and three runs from the final over in the gripping conclusion to a see-sawing series.
South Africa won the first match at Adelaide by seven wickets but Australia set up Sunday's match as the series decider when it won the second match at Melbourne by the same margin.
White took a single from the first ball of the final over, exposing No. 9 Sean Abbott to the wiles of his namesake Kyle Abbott who bowled his first three overs at a cost of only 17 runs. Proteas captain J.P. Duminy used only five bowlers, including Wayne Parnell who gave up 43 runs from his four overs.
Sean Abbott played and missed at the second delivery of the last over and was then trapped lbw by the third — Abbott lbw to Abbott — to leave White to negotiate an unexpectedly tense finish.
No. 10 Cameron Boyle managed to spar the fourth delivery to point and White just reclaimed the strike as Robin Peterson's throw grazed the stumps at the striker's ends.
White then struck the fifth ball of the over — the penulimate ball of the match — firmly into the on side for the single that clinched Australia's victory. "It got a bit twitchy there didn't itIJ" White said. "I think it was probably set up by the bowlers again.
"Chasing 140 on that wicket you'd be pretty comfortable most times but I'm just glad we got over the line at the end." Earlier, South Africa seemed headed for a commanding total after being sent into bat when Quintin de Kock (48) and Reeza Hendricks (49) put on 75 for the first wicket in 8.4 overs. The Proteas were 84-1 at the midpoint of their innings and still soundly placed at 116-2 entering their last five overs.