South Africa beat Australia by 40 runs in the third One day International match to win the series 2-1 here on Sunday.

"I thought we played our best game of cricket. We challenged ourselves to put in a performance. A high pressure game. (...) we have fantastic memories of Hobart. We'll remember this place fondly," said South African captain Faf du Plessis after the game, reports Efe.

Australia won the toss and elected to field first on a batting friendly track. The pace bowlers got to work straight away, dismissing the South African top order cheaply, leaving them reeling at 55/3 by the middle of the 16th over.

What followed was an absolute masterclass by du Plessis and David Miller, who helped stage a recovery by teaming up for a record 255-run partnership, with both batsmen scoring centuries.

Set a target of 321 in 50 overs, Australia could only manage 280/9, with Shaun Marsh and Marcus Stoinis showing some resolve with a century and a half-century, respectively.

Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn were the pick of the South African bowlers with three wickets each.

--IANS

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