Melbourne: South Africa beat Australia by 3 wickets to win the first match of the ODI series at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. All-rounder Albie Morkel hit four fours and a six in his 18-ball 40 to guide his team to victory and stun the world champions.

In a chase that went down to the last over, the Proteas achieved the victory target of 272 runs with three balls to spare to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

The South African run chase was built around the 123-run partnership between Jean Paul Duminy (52) and Neil McKenzie (62). But the Aussies hit back snaring 4 wickets for 8 runs.

Earlier, Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat first. Shaun Marsh top scored for the Aussies with 79, while David Hussey and Ponting chipped in with 52 and 46 each as the hosts scored 271/8 in 50 overs.