Lunch South Africa 162 and 63 for 4 (Markram 38*, de Bruyn 2*) need another 354 runs to beat Australia 351 and 227 (Bancroft 53, Maharaj 4-102, Morkel 3-47)
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
At the start of South Africa’s second innings, the prospect of winning or saving the Test seemed slim. Twenty overs in, even taking the match into the fifth day looked like it might be beyond them. Set 417 for victory, which would be the second-highest successful chase in Test history, South Africa stumbled to lunch at 63 for 4. Opener Aiden Markram was still at the crease on 38, alongside Theunis de Bruyn on 2, and South Africa needed a further 354 for the fanciful prospect of victory.
The dismissal of AB de Villiers perhaps best summed up South Africa’s struggle. Their top scorer from the first innings, de Villiers was yet to score when he took off for a single when Markram turned Nathan Lyon to square leg, was sent back when already halfway down the pitch, and stumbled his way back to the non-striker’s end with no chance of making his ground safely. South Africa’s best hope of pulling off a miracle was run out in ugly fashion.
Faf du Plessis followed soon after when his off stump cartwheeled out of the ground as Pat Cummins found the gap between bat and pad, ending the innings of South Africa’s captain on 4, and leaving them on 49 for 4. Earlier, Mitchell Starc had found the edge of Dean Elgar’s bat to have him caught behind for 9, and Hashim Amla was trapped lbw by Josh Hazlewood for 8. By lunch, not a single batsman besides Markram had reached double-figures.
The morning had started with Australia on 213 for 9 and the last pair, Hazlewood and Cummins, added a further 14 before the innings ended on 227 when Cummins chopped on off the bowling of Keshav Maharaj. Maharaj finished the innings with four wickets, which meant a career-best Test-match haul of nine wickets.
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