South Africa Smash Australia to Level Test Series Heading Into Cape Town Decider
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Bavuma Leads Proteas to Emphatic Victory over Australia in Second Test
After losing the first Test in Durban, South Africa bounced back to secure an emphatic victory by an innings and 31 runs at St. George’s Park on Thursday afternoon to level the three-match Test series at 1-1 and confirm our cricket predictions.
The Proteas were put in to bat by Australia after losing the toss on Day 1, and they rose to the challenge with Temba Bavuma leading the charge, scoring a stunning 179, including 18 fours and 1 six after Aiden Markram, Marques Ackerman, and David Bedingham were dismissed early.
South Africa’s middle order also failed to make much of an impact, with Matthew Breetzke, Ryan Rickleton and Wiaan Mulder scoring a combined 48, but Marco Jansen and Simon Harmer played huge roles late on, notching up 85 and 82 runs, respectively, to get the team to 425/9d.
Australia suffered a huge collapse in their first innings, bowled out for just 99 runs in 42.3 overs, with Jansen picking up 5/33, while the returning Kagiso Rabada claimed two scalps for 33 runs in 12 overs. Wiaan Mulder and Anrich Nortje shared the remaining wickets.
The morning session on Day 5 was lost to rain, and South Africa were without one of their key pacers in Nortje, but they still managed to wrap up Australia’s second innings for just 295 an hour after tea to set up a decider in Cape Town next week.
Australia Face Massive Selection Dilemma in Series Decider
Australia have plenty to fix after their heavy defeat to the Proteas in Gqeberha, with captain Pat Cummins acknowledging the scale of the problem as several of his players have come under pressure ahead of the series decider in Cape Town.
The defeat sparked widespread criticism back in Australia, with media headlines branding the display a “horror show”, labelling the team “shambolic” and declaring that “brutal failures” had been exposed. Speaking after the match, Cummins admitted:
"Clearly need to be a lot better than that if we want to compete. I think a loss can sometimes kick you into gear. You can maybe paper over the cracks sometimes in a win. Whereas I think in a loss, it makes you ask questions as a player of yourself."
Marnus Labuschagne’s place in the Australian team is under growing scrutiny after another spell of inconsistent batting. The number three has not scored a Test century in three years, making his selection a key talking point ahead of the Cape Town finale.
