Ponting was in defiant mood after his side's victory

Ponting top-scored on his return to the side in the Aussies' 24-run win, which reduced the hosts' series lead to 2-1.

"It was a really good win for us. We batted well and then Brett Lee and the bowlers won it for us," said Ponting.

"We've been behind in series before, like against Sri Lanka a few weeks ago, and know what it takes to come back."

Ponting's 62, backed up by good knocks from Simon Katich (49) and Damien Martyn (51), helped the world champions to a competitive 254-6 from their 50 overs.

The Proteas looked down and out when they slumped to 69-5, but AB de Villiers and Shaun Pollock combined to keep them in it.

Ultimately, though, they left themselves too much to do and Lee's 4-48 helped bowl them out for 230 with 2.4 overs remaining.

Home captain Graeme Smith said his specialist batsmen failed to provide the necessary platform for South Africa to chase victory.

"We needed a good partnership in our top five," the 25-year-old admitted.

"It was definitely a gettable total. Pollock and De Villiers showed what was needed, but we couldn't pull it off."