Player of the Match
Player of the Match
  • BATSMEN
    R
    B
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    4s
    6s
    SR
    26.4 got him! If you sense vulnerability, you bring Vernon back! Bancroft over the last 20 minutes has been chasing deliveries outside off. Resisted thrice this over, but this one is fuller and moving away very late outside off. Draws him in, gets a thick edge and the keeper leaps to his right to take it 98/1
    63
    100
    156
    9
    0
    63.00
    36.2 gone through Warner! 132 kph. A fantastic move from Faf. A full delivery on middle and leg, this one does not move. Warner plays for some, goes through his defense, beating him on the inside edge to hit the top of middle and off. A fine knock from Warner, but SA now have an opening. 117/3
    30.4 edged and gone! And again, it's the replica of the previous delivery. Full outside off, he could have let that one go, but Philander is getting some inward movement. So Khawaja has to cover his off stump. He pushes at the ball, hoping the ball would move back. But it does not. The last ball followed the same modus operandi to beat the bat, this ball catches the outside edge. Amazing bowling from the Big Vern. 104/2
    51.6 got him! Or has he? Smith reviews. He was struck right in front of the stumps and he appeared to be walking before the umpire gave it out...before deciding to stick around. It's a poor review too, he's plumb in front. Length ball angled in at middle stump. He shuffles and unlike his usual self, misses this on the inside edge. Back leg, right in front of middle stump. Rabada is in his face screaming "yes!" multiple times. Big, big wicket. Has Rabada made contact with Smith there? Looks like their shoulders have bumped, but neither of them were moving deliberately for it 161/4
    53.2 Shaun Marsh reviews an lbw now. Rabada brings one in fiercely from around the wicket and he's caught off guard. Looks to flick and misses. He's right in front of middle stump during impact. Only the angle can save him...it won't. That's hitting the top of leg. Umpire's call. 166/5
    71.3 breaches the defence. That's the end of Tim Paine's resistance. Regulation length ball, pitching outside off and headed for the top of off. Paine looks to block on the front foot but he's left the gate open 243/10
    53.5 inside edge and it's another wicket! De Kock completes a low catch. Rabada is making it happen! Reverse swing on this, hooping in at a length from outside off. Looks to drive on the up and it kisses the bat on the way through 170/6
    53.6 edged and gone first ball! Rabada on a hat-trick! Cummins must have been told multiple times in the dressing room to watch for the full, straight one. So he is crouching low, waiting for the ball to come to him but it doesn't. Instead, it pitches, moves away and takes the outside edge. Sensational bowling from KG. 170/7
    8
    11
    18
    1
    0
    72.72
    57.5 five-for for Rabada. A word to Starc as he goes past. That's a jaffa of a delivery. On a length on off, Starc's feet are nowhere, but his bat comes down at an awkward angle, looking to flick, the ball moves away, beats the bat and clips the top of off stump! 182/8
    17
    20
    27
    4
    0
    85.00
    63.5 that's the one. The ball that swings back in to nip in between bat and pad. Full and straight, swinging back in. Lyon cannot account for that movement, there is a huge gap between bat and pad. The ball ricochets into the stumps via the pad. 212/9
    not out
    10
    10
    39
    2
    0
    100.00
    Extras
    14 (lb 14)
    TOTAL
    243 all out (71.3 Overs, RR: 3.39, 325 minutes)
    Fall of wickets: 1-98 (Cameron Bancroft, 26.4 ov), 2-104 (Usman Khawaja, 30.4 ov), 3-117 (David Warner, 36.2 ov), 4-161 (Steven Smith, 51.6 ov), 5-166 (Shaun Marsh, 53.2 ov), 6-170 (Mitchell Marsh, 53.5 ov), 7-170 (Pat Cummins, 53.6 ov), 8-182 (Mitchell Starc, 57.5 ov), 9-212 (Nathan Lyon, 63.5 ov), 10-243 (Tim Paine, 71.3 ov)
    BowlingOMRWEconWDNB
    VD Philander1872521.3800
    K Rabada2129654.5700
    L Ngidi13.335133.7700
    KA Maharaj1815102.8300
    D Elgar10606.0000
  • BATSMEN
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    4s
    6s
    SR
    67.6 edged and gone! That was too good. This has been a terrific spell of reverse swing bowling. A full delivery outside off, Elgar prods, the ball moves away like an offbreak, takes the outside edge and goes through to Paine. A very gritty 57, but Australia are right back in this one. 155/4
    7.4 plumb! Markram's got one angled into him, and he's late on it. Stuck in the crease, falling over into the off side and struck on the knee roll. Not even a thought of reviewing that. 22/1
    29
    40
    58
    6
    0
    72.50
    20.2 chopped on! Cummins strikes. Back of a length outside off, his feet don't move. Rabada plays from the crease, the bat well away from the pad. He looks to defend, but the ball takes the inside edge, into the pad and then hits off stump. His head goes back in disappointment, but that's a nice contribution with the bat 67/2
    56
    148
    203
    6
    0
    37.83
    66.4 gone through Amla! A full delivery outside off, the ball has been reversing and this one does too! If Amla can't lay bat on it, it's going to be a tough time for the rest of South Africa. The point of release is wide of the crease, it looks destined for middle from that angle, but the ball straightens ever so late, beats the outside edge and uproots off stump! What a delivery. Too good even for Amla. 155/3
    not out
    126
    146
    261
    20
    1
    86.30
    75.3 plumb in front! That looked out. It's that reverse again. But Faf asks for the review. It's much fuller than the previous ones, it finds a gap between bat and pad, hits Faf on the back pad in front of leg. Wonder if he was taken aback by how much movement Marsh got. Three reds on HawkEye, SA now in a bit of trouble 179/5
    77.4 gone! De Bruyn now given out lbw. And he does not review. SA are now six down. A full delivery seams back in, de Bruyn misses a drive, struck on the pad in front of middle. The ball moves back in like an offbreak. Umpire Dharmasena says that's out. Umpire's call, just clipping the side of leg stump. 183/6
    85.3 what a ball, Lyon! Superb! QDK can't do anything about this. The perfect pace, the perfect amount of flight and the perfect spot on the pitch as this drifts in and draws him forward. He's shown half of off stump and the ball finds it after spinning past the outside edge 227/7
    108.3 this time, Bancroft makes no mistake at short leg. Cummins hits the deck hard, gets good bounce. Philander plays in front of the body as he's caught on the crease, came off the splice again but lobbed at a comfortable height. Right at the stroke of the drinks interval 311/8
    115.4 that's the end of Maharaj's cameo. Shapes to pull but this wasn't as short as he expected. Through with the swing as the ball crashed into the bails. 369/9
    118.4 squirts this into the cover region and chances a second. Smith is superb to run in from deep cover, pick the ball up and fire a direct hit at the bowler's end. Ngidi had no chance. That's the end of that. AB walks off to a huge round of applause, South Africa have a big lead. He walks off unbeaten on 126. What a session of Test cricket we've had. That's lunch on day three 382/10
    Extras
    13 (b 9, lb 2, w 2)
    TOTAL
    382 all out (118.4 Overs, RR: 3.21, 558 minutes)
    Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Aiden Markram, 7.4 ov), 2-67 (Kagiso Rabada, 20.2 ov), 3-155 (Hashim Amla, 66.4 ov), 4-155 (Dean Elgar, 67.6 ov), 5-179 (Faf du Plessis, 75.3 ov), 6-183 (Theunis de Bruyn, 77.4 ov), 7-227 (Quinton de Kock, 85.3 ov), 8-311 (Vernon Philander, 108.3 ov), 9-369 (Keshav Maharaj, 115.4 ov), 10-382 (Lungi Ngidi, 118.4 ov)
    BowlingOMRWEconWDNB
    MA Starc33.4511013.2600
    JR Hazlewood3059823.2600
    PJ Cummins2467933.2920
    NM Lyon2255812.6300
    MR Marsh912622.8800
  • BATSMEN
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    4s
    6s
    SR
    24
    70
    97
    2
    0
    34.28
    21.3 What have you done, Bancroft? What a soft end to an otherwise solid innings. Floated full and outside off, Bancroft simply reaches out for the ball with his hands and brings his bat down at an awkward angle. An inside edge trickles back onto the base of off stump and the off bail gets dislodged. Bancroft sees off the new ball but doesn't cash in again 62/2
    13
    21
    43
    3
    0
    61.90
    9.2 ...and Rabada wins the intense battle with a ripper that storms through the gate. Rabada hits that in-between length - neither driveable nor pullable - and gets the ball to move back in against the angle from outside off. He slices through the defences of the opener and tilts the off stump back. No shoulder brushes, no contact. More sedate celebrations from Rabada, if one could call that. He just screams in the face of the defeated Warner, but then again it's likely to attract unwanted attention. Cool off, Rabada 27/1
    75
    136
    225
    14
    0
    55.14
    61.1 Rabada returns and pins Khawaja in front with seven minutes to go for stumps. Khawaja chats with Marsh and decides against a review. This looked pretty adjacent and the three reds confirm it. Rabada lets out a roar and celebrates. Speared full on middle and tails away late to beat Khawaja's outside edge and ping the back pad. It would have carried onto hit the top of off stump. Khawaja's tendency to camp back in the crease works against him in the end 173/5
    26.4 Maharaj reels in the big fish. The big fish walks off, and Maharaj is mobbed by his team-mates. Maharaj loops a full ball up on middle and off and gets it to break away and bounce. Smith plays back and wafts at it. He feathers it behind and he knows it. De Kock rides the bounce and snags a sharp catch behind the stumps. Australia are still 62 runs behind 77/3
    29.2 there's the poke and he's gone. This is a nothing shot from Marsh. He was neither going for a full-blooded drive nor was he intending to leave that. Credit to Rabada, pitched this up and got this to move away just a hint to drag him into the stroke, got the faintest of edges through to de Kock. Trouble, trouble for Australia 86/4
    45
    125
    155
    4
    1
    36.00
    63.6 bowled him! Boom, right through the defence. They've checked for no-ball, he's fine. What a sight. Marsh is an unfortunate man to get this ball so early in the day. Nips in off the seam from outside off - the shiny side is pointed towards leg side - and clips his front leg back thigh before knocking off stump. He's looking to defend but the stride isn't quite there in the first over of the day 186/6
    not out
    28
    50
    92
    2
    0
    56.00
    67.2 steers it to gully! Five wickets in the innings, ten in the game for Rabada. Short of a length ball nips away from outside off. Cummins stays leg side of it and jabs away from the body. Theunis de Bruyn is really close at gully, and he snaps it up to his left with a tumble 202/7
    69.3 outside edge? Yes. Starc drives inside the line, the ball straightens outside off and it's a faint edge. As regulation as it can get in Test cricket. It's on a length and he's looking for a big drive on the up 204/8
    72.2 outside edge and that's the end of Lyon. Australia are now 72 for 9 effectively. Reverse swing from Ngidi, inwards and full at off stump. Straightens off the pitch and Lyon gets a thin edge as he looks to drive 211/9
    78.6 holes out to deep midwicket. Maharaj keeps hanging it outside off, Hazlewood takes the bait again and goes for the slog sweep. No attempt to keep it down and it appears he's got this off the toe. It dips on the fielder in the deep and he takes it comfortably 239/10
    Extras
    14 (b 2, lb 10, w 2)
    TOTAL
    239 all out (79 Overs, RR: 3.02, 362 minutes)
    Fall of wickets: 1-27 (David Warner, 9.2 ov), 2-62 (Cameron Bancroft, 21.3 ov), 3-77 (Steven Smith, 26.4 ov), 4-86 (Shaun Marsh, 29.2 ov), 5-173 (Usman Khawaja, 61.1 ov), 6-186 (Mitchell Marsh, 63.6 ov), 7-202 (Pat Cummins, 67.2 ov), 8-204 (Mitchell Starc, 69.3 ov), 9-211 (Nathan Lyon, 72.2 ov), 10-239 (Josh Hazlewood, 78.6 ov)
    BowlingOMRWEconWDNB
    VD Philander1855603.1100
    K Rabada2295462.4510
    KA Maharaj2329023.9100
    L Ngidi1352421.8400
    AK Markram31301.0000
  • BATSMEN
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    4s
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    SR
    8.6 edged and taken! Too good from Hazlewood. Australia not giving up. It's another stunning delivery, on a good length, the ball moving away. Markram is lulled into playing because of the threat of reverse swing and the threat of bowled or lbw. It doesn't come in, it goes away. Takes the outside edge, flies in between first and second slip. But Smith steps up, moves well to his left and takes a smart catch. Excellent stuff 32/2
    5
    17
    24
    0
    0
    29.41
    5.1 superb catch off his own bowling. Drifts this in at a length, on middle stump. Elgar leans in and looks to flick. Gets a leading edge that dies on Lyon who - replays confirm - has got his fingers under it as he lunges forward 22/1
    18.4 edged and gone! Amla nicks off. It's full, swinging away. SA are in touching distance so he goes through with a waft, unlike Amla. Is not in control of the drive, the ball takes the outside edge to T-Paine. 81/3
    19.1 straight to short leg. 94 kph. That's an excellent piece of bowling from Lyon. He sees AB coming and shortens the length just a touch, which means the ball isn't full. AB works the ball away into the leg side, but short leg is patrolling that region. He stays low, moves forward with the batsman, sees the ball off the face and takes a catch inches from the ground. Terrific piece of cricket from Lyon and Bancroft. 81/4
    not out
    2
    10
    19
    0
    0
    20.00
    not out
    15
    14
    15
    2
    0
    107.14
    Extras
    4 (b 4)
    TOTAL
    102/4 (22.5 Overs, RR: 4.46, 98 minutes)
    Fall of wickets: 1-22 (Dean Elgar, 5.1 ov), 2-32 (Aiden Markram, 8.6 ov), 3-81 (Hashim Amla, 18.4 ov), 4-81 (AB de Villiers, 19.1 ov)
    BowlingOMRWEconWDNB
    MA Starc301505.0000
    JR Hazlewood602614.3300
    NM Lyon904424.8800
    PJ Cummins4.501312.6800

Close of Play

  • Fri, 9 Mar - day 1 - South Africa 1st innings 39/1 (D Elgar 11*, K Rabada 17*, 12 ov)
  • Sat, 10 Mar - day 2 - South Africa 1st innings 263/7 (AB de Villiers 74*, VD Philander 14*, 95 ov)
  • Sun, 11 Mar - day 3 - Australia 2nd innings 180/5 (MR Marsh 39*, TD Paine 5*, 63 ov)
  • Mon, 12 Mar - day 4 - South Africa 2nd innings 102/4 (22.5 ov) - end of match

Match Notes

Rabada equals Waqar

4

No. of 10-wkt hauls for Rabada in Tests, at age of 22 - the joint-most for any bowler before turning 23. Waqar Younis had also picked 4 10-fors before ageing 23.

AB triumphs

197*

Runs scored by AB de Villiers in this series, in 3 innings, without getting out to any bowler. He remained not out in first inns of both the Tests while in the second inns of last Test he was run out.

Elgar's fruitful venue

5

No. of 50+ scores for Dean Elgar in 8 Test inns at Port Elizabeth, including his fifty in this game. He has scored over 500 runs at the venue with two centuries and two other fifties.

Rabada's roar

18

No. of balls of a span in which Rabada took five wickets and that induced Australia's collapse.