Glenn Maxwell scored an unbeaten 62 from 36 balls to help Australia beat South Africa by two wickets in the decider and win the three-match T20 series 2-1.

The hosts were struggling at 122-6 in the 14th over while chasing a target of 173 when the 36-year-old hit his first T20I half-century in 11 innings.

His half-century left Australia needing 12 runs from two overs but South Africa all-rounder Corbin Bosch dismissed Ben Dwarshuis and Nathan Ellis with consecutive deliveries in the penultimate over as momentum swung in favour of the tourists.

Maxwell, however, hit two boundaries off Lungi Ngidi in the final over to guide Australia to a series win with a ball to spare.

“It was a little bit nerve-wracking,” Maxwell said.

“I probably had to do the majority of the striking but, yeah, it was nice to get a couple out of the middle right near the end.”

Earlier, Dewald Brevis’ 26-ball 53 and Rassie van der Dussen’s 38 not out had taken South Africa to 172-7 after Australia sent them out to bat first.

“Without [Maxwell] playing a blinding innings, I wouldn’t be standing up here, so there’s been contributions from everyone in our team throughout this series and we’ve had so much fun,” said player of the series Tim David.

David had hit a 52-ball 83 as Australia won the first T20 in Darwin by 17 runs, before South Africa levelled the series with a 53-run victory at the same venue this week.

The teams will remain in Cairns to play the first of three one-day internationals on Tuesday before travelling to Queensland.