Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers helped South Africa claim eight-wicket victory and an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.
South Africa opener Herschelle Gibbs also produced a scintillating cameo of 38 as the tourists made light work of their run chase against Australia in the fourth one-dayer on Monday to seal the series 3-1, with another match still to go.
Gibbs plays an excellent knock
Gibbs faced just 29 balls, smashing eight boundaries, and was the key player in a 58-run opening stand with Amla. He eventually miscued one of several lofted drives and was caught by Mike Hussey at mid-on.
Gibbs' replacement, Jacques Kallis, also made batting look easy but he was dismissed by James Hopes with Shaun Marsh taking the catch at short mid-wicket.
That left the Proteas on 79 for two, but Amla and De Villiers forged what proved to be the winning partnership by picking up plenty of singles and twos.
They then played with more flair with a mid-innings powerplay sparking a more aggressive approach. The duo rarely strayed from the orthodox as time was on their side and the ever-decreasing run-rate ensured life out in the middle remained low key.
Amla, De Villiers put Proteas in control
Amla was the first to bring up his fifty in 70 balls, including four fours, while De Villiers passed the mark with a six over mid-wicket.
The pair continued to punish Australia's attack and De Villiers, who won the man-of-the-match award, brought up the winning run with a leg-glance.
Hopes was the best of the Aussie bowlers with one for 28 off 7.1 overs while Ben Hilfenhaus was the other wicket taker.
Earlier, Australia won the toss but were bowled out in 48 overs.
Aussies all out for 222
The hosts looked to be in a strong position at 110 for two with top scorer Ponting and Mike Hussey (24) keeping the run-rate ticking over at around a run per ball.
But the pair were dismissed in quick succession and when Brad Haddin followed soon after the home side were struggling on 130 for five at the 25-over mark.
It was then left to the tail to scramble as many runs as they could in the second half of the innings.
Hopes posted a responsible and well-timed 42 off 44 deliveries while Cameron White made a fighting 30 but got out chasing a wide Dale Steyn delivery.
Steyn had the best figures with three for 49 while Makhaya Ntini took some early punishment from Ponting but fought back to finish with three for 52.
SA make early breakthrough
The Proteas made an early breakthrough by dismissing opener David Warner, caught by Morne Morkel off Ntini at mid-on in the second over.
Marsh (13) then followed to an outstanding Morkel catch at fine-leg off Steyn but Ponting launched a counter-attack, hitting Ntini for three fours in the eighth over and adding two more boundaries at the start of Albie Morkel's spell.
Mike Hussey played a support role but was eventually trapped lbw by Johan Botha. Two soft dismissals followed, Ponting caught by Neil McKenzie at cover and Haddin held in the deep by Kallis.
White and Hopes added some respectability with a 37-run stand - but the former was dismissed just as the recovery was taking shape.
As wickets ran out, Australia called for the powerplay in the 43rd over and worked hard for 30 runs out of it. But they were bowled out in 48 overs when Hilfenhaus was caught behind.
The final one-dayer will take place in Perth on Friday.
Teams:
Australia: Shaun Marsh, David Warner, Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey, David Hussey, Cameron White, Brad Haddin (wk), James Hopes, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Shaun Tait.
South Africa: Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers (wk), JP Duminy, Neil McKenzie, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Johan Botha (capt), Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini.
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