A brilliant half-century from recalled all-rounder Andrew Symonds has edged Australia home past South Africa in the fourth one-day international in Durban.
Australia reached its winning target of 247-9 with five balls to spare.
The nail-biting one-wicket victory squares the five-match series with the decider to be played on Sunday in Johannesburg.
Symonds' exhilarating knock of 76 off 71 balls - his best one-day score against South Africa - helped rescue the Australians after the top-order had failed to capitalise on a solid start from openers Adam Gilchrist and Simon Katich.
The tide turned when Symonds and Mike Hussey took 19 runs off Graeme Smith's second over to reduce the required run rate to less than six an over.
And despite the Queenslander losing his wicket to Roger Telemachus (bowled) in the 43rd over - with Brett Lee succumbing to Makhaya Ntini the next delivery - the Australian tail squeezed past the 247-run target thanks largely to a rearguard offensive from paceman Stuart Clark.
Clark finished on 16 not out from 18 deliveries and Telemachus finished with figures of 3-34.
Earlier, a superb cameo from Shaun Pollock had guided South Africa to a respectable total from its 50 overs.
Pollock joined opener Boeta Dippenaar - who batted from the first over to the last to anchor the Proteas innings and record his first-ever one-day century against Australia - at 173-6 with the pair putting on 72 in 55 balls for the seventh wicket.
Dippenaar's resilient 101 from 145 balls held together the South African total and in partnership with master-blaster Pollock - who cracked 53 from just 33 balls including 17 off Brett Lee's ninth over - set the Aussies a competitive target.
Nathan Bracken (2-36) and Mick Lewis (2 -38) were Australia's best performers with the ball.
Chasing victory to stay in the series, the tourists slumped to 101-4 after Gilchrist and Katich had put on 87 for the opening stand.
Gilchrist found the boundary at frequent intervals in a characteristic knock of 45 from just 44 deliveries before falling to Jacques Kallis' first ball after a five-week layoff with elbow trouble.
His first-wicket partnership with Katich - which included 54 runs from boundaries - had ended the first over immediately after the drinks break when Katich (46 off 68 balls) mistimed a pull into the hands of Kallis in the deep.
With both openers having departed, Damien Martyn (one) and Ricky Ponting (seven) followed within three balls of Telemachus' third over.
And like Katich, Michael Clarke (seven runs from 23 balls) had a rush of blood straight after the drinks interval as the pressure started to tell.
But after Symonds and Hussey had steaded the ship, it was left to Clark to hit the winning runs
