In a finish tinged with drama, the umpires took the two teams off the Brisbane Cricket Ground after rain started falling with the South Africans needing just five runs to win with 10 balls remaining.

The covers were brought on but the players soon returned to complete formalities after the victory target remained unchanged.

It was a just reward for the South Africans who had earlier restricted Australia to a modest 228 off 49.5 overs after destroying their top order batting. In reply they managed 231-5 off 48.5 overs.

The Proteas came into the match as underdogs following the host nation's crushing win over Sri Lanka in the series opener on Friday and after losing key strike bowlers Ande Nel, Charl Langeveldt and Makhaya Ntini to injury.

But veteran paceman Shaun Pollock, later named man of the match, stepped up to the plate to claim the first three Australian wickets, including openers Adam Gilchrist and Simon Katich for ducks to finish with 3-30.

He was well supported by all-rounder Andrew Hall who took 3-43.

It seemed South Africa would struggle to chase down the runs, with some brilliant fielding by the Australians.

But Boucher and Kemp belted 17 runs off Brett Lee in the 46th over to help see their team home, with the former finishing unbeaten on 63 and the latter not out on 29.

The Australians had no excuses with Ricky Ponting conceding they had simply not batted well enough in the conditions, which were good for most of the match.

"You can't get 229 on that sort of wicket and expect to be competitive," Ponting said.

"We are going to have a look at the way we were dismissed and the way we played some of the shots we played early on in our innings."

The skipper, who made 33 before becoming the prize scalp of newcomer Monde Zondeki, said the Australians had been well prepared.

"We had a very good hit-out as far as skills were concerned a couple of days ago so we were 100 percent ready and ripe for this game," he said.

While it was Boucher and Kemp who carried their team to victory, the Proteas' batting performance was held together by a defiant Boeta Dippenaar who notched 74 off 115 before being run out.

His knock came at the right time after captain Graeme Smith's poor summer with the bat continued. He was dismissed for 12, caught by Simon Katich after he attempted to pull a rising ball from Glenn McGrath to square leg with the South African score on 27.

Dippenaar remained at the crease, but initially did his team few favours when four balls later he cost them the key wicket of new batsman Jacques Kallis.

The all-rounder was dismissed for a duck courtesy of a brilliant piece of work from Andrew Symonds after Dippenaar appeared to show scant regard for the Australian's brilliant fielding skills.

For the home side, it took an Australian record seventh-wicket stand of 123 between Michael Hussey and Brett Lee to spare them serious humiliation and allow them to post a competitive score. When Lee came to the crease to join Hussey, the hosts were reeling at 71-6 off 18 overs.

Pollock had set the tone from the opening delivery, bowling Gilchrist to signal the start of a top-order rout for the Australians.