South Australia 93 (Elliott 6-23) and 388 (Sangha 75, Scott 69*, McInerney 61) beat Tasmania 101 (Doggett 6-40) and 293 (Radhakrishnan 68, Doran 65, Webster 53, Pope 4-76) by 87 runs
Set 381 runs for victory, Tasmania moved past 200 for the loss of three wickets as they sought to pull off an improbable run chase on Friday’s final day of play at Adelaide Oval.
But legspinner Pope claimed three of the last seven wickets to steer table-topping SA to their fifth win of the season from eight matches. SA now have one foot in the door of the final as they chase their first Shield title since 1996.
Webster belted five fours and a six in his 59-ball innings but was the last man out when he skied a catch to Jake Lehman off Nathan McAndrew.
Lehman had dropped a couple of catches earlier in the match and almost spilled the last chance, before grabbing it at the second attempt.
It brought down the curtain on a remarkable match, after 20 wickets fell on day one. It was the first time SA have won a Shield match after batting first and posting fewer than 100 runs in the first innings.
They were skittled for 93 but responded by knocking over Tasmania for 101 on Tuesday, thanks largely to 6 for 40 from player of the match Brendan Doggett.
Radhakrishnan, an Indian-born 22-year-old who can bowl spinners with right and left arms, put on 79 runs for the fourth wicket with Doran as Tasmania briefly eyed victory.
Pope was on a hat-trick when he removed tailenders Kieran Elliott and Gabe Bell – both out for ducks and caught by Manenti.
