Ricky Ponting says he didn't plan it that way, but a six to win the series and bring up his own century made the perfect ending to the second Test at Newlands today. Australia held off a resurgent South Africa to win by four wickets, take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, and retain the world Test Championship. With three needed to win, Ponting (94) swung a short ball from left-arm spinner Paul Adams over the backward-square-leg boundary to hoist his 10th Test century. "I wasn't thinking of hitting a six – I just wanted to hit the winning runs for the team," said Ponting, who reckoned boundaries from his final batting partner Shane Warne meant he could only finish on 98.

"Warney hit a couple of fours and kept apologising," said Ponting. Then Adams dropped the ball short. "To get a half-tracker with the square leg up was nice. Then I tried to hit it over the fence."

There were some anxious moments for Australia, who lost four wickets for 54 runs either side of lunch and still needed 26 when Warne joined Ponting. But Ponting didn't waver. "I took it on myself to make sure I saw it through," said Ponting, who will succeed Steve Waugh as Australia's one-day captain after Waugh leads the side in the third and final Test at Durban, which starts on Friday.

Waugh paid tribute to Ponting: "It was a very mature innings, the sort of innings he has been threatening to play for some time. He deserved his hundred. It was a great way to finish."

Waugh said it was "a very satisfying win". He thought the run-outs of Andrew Hall and Neil McKenzie, who were out for 0 and 99 in quick succession yesterday, turned the match in Australia's favour. But, Waugh said, victory wouldn't have been possible without Man of the Match Warne, who took 6 for 161 in a career-longest stretch of 70 overs in the second innings. "He was the key to our winning," said Waugh. "He's a once-in-a-lifetime bowler."

Waugh also heaped praise on opening batsman Matthew Hayden, who hit 96 and helped get the innings off to a flying start after Australia were set a target of 331 to achieve the tenth-highest fourth-innings winning total in Test history.

Hayden fell four short of his fifth century in successive Tests against South Africa when he chased a wide one from Jacques Kallis and was caught behind by Mark Boucher, South Africa's stand-in captain.

"I never saw [Don] Bradman bat," said Waugh, "but I can't imagine he could have batted much better. I don't think that's going over the top, the way Matthew's batted over the last five matches. His balance is magnificent and his shot-selection outstanding – apart from the way he got out today."

Ponting's spectacular finish capped a tense afternoon in which Adams struck twice within seven balls as Australia stumbled within sight of their triumph. They were cruising to victory until Mark Waugh was caught behind off Makhaya Ntini – the third wicket to fall, in the last over before lunch, when 80 runs were still required.

But they lost three more wickets before Ponting and Warne (15 not out) settled the series. Adams bowled Steve Waugh for 14, then trapped Damien Martyn lbw for a duck. There was another anxious moment with 26 runs needed, when Adam Gilchrist was caught at midwicket off Kallis after making a quickfire 24.

Hayden and Ponting took command at the start of play, hitting Adams out of the attack after just two overs. Boucher, who said he was disappointed at the result but proud of the way his players had fought, admitted that this assault, which had started during a 102-run opening stand between Hayden and Justin Langer yesterday, "Took the game away from us."

Boucher said the introduction of younger players had helped increase the enthusiasm of the South African team: "It was a nice feeling captaining a bunch of guys doing their best and laying their bodies on the line."

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