Australia won't forget this one easily. If India challenged the Aussie dominance, South Africa sealed the last nail in the coffin on Tuesday.
Graeme Smith's men romped to a nine-wicket win at the MCG and clinched the three-Test series against Australia 2-0.
Chasing 183 to win the match, South Africa started the day on 30-0. Skipper Smith dented the Aussie hopes of jangling a few South African nerves with his usual confident strokeplay. Along with fellow opener Neil McKenzie, Smith added 119 for the first wicket, playing out Australia completely of the game and more importantly the series.
Smith scored a blazing 75 off 94 deliveries before he was trapped by Nathan Hauritz. Smith spent more than two hours at the crease and scored 10 boundaries. This is Australia's first Test series defeat at home in 16 years.
McKenzie (59 not out) and Hashim Amla (30 not out) notched up the remaining runs to hand the Aussies their second series loss in three series. This is Australia's first defeat at home in 16 years.
Having taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, South Africa will topple Australia from their top ranking if Graeme Smith's men can win the third and final Test in Sydney.
The result leaves no doubt that with defeats against India and South Africa in the space of three months, Australia have gone from being a brute winning force to a team that can be tamed.
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