Australia face a challenging fourth-innings chase of 288 to win the series-deciding Test against South Africa in Cape Town after the hosts were bowled out for 387 on day four.
The Proteas appeared to have taken firm control after reaching 5-335, but a late collapse of five wickets for 52 runs left the contest finely balanced heading into the final day.
Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder had earlier rescued South Africa with centuries and a sixth-wicket partnership of 154. Rickelton made 101 before an outstanding piece of fielding by Josh Inglis ended his innings, with the wicketkeeper cutting off Mulder’s reverse sweep at backward point and completing a run-out at the bowler’s end.
Mulder went on to score 115, but was caught in the deep off Pat Cummins in the final over of the innings. Mitchell Starc finished with three for 65, giving him nine wickets in the match, while Cummins took two for 71.
South Africa’s lower order then unravelled rapidly. Marco Jansen was caught hooking Starc for a duck, before Nathan Lyon dismissed Simon Harmer when the ball struck the bat handle and deflected on to the stumps as Harmer attempted to leave it.
Gerald Coetzee was run out after a mix-up with Marnus Labuschagne, completing another costly South African mistake. Earlier, Matthew Breetzke had fallen for 43 after trying to hook a shorter delivery from Cummins.
The target will nevertheless represent Australia’s most difficult task of the match. The largest successful fourth-innings chase at Newlands is 331, achieved by Steve Waugh’s Australia in 2002, while South Africa’s 236 in 2011 is the next-highest.
Conditions may offer Australia some encouragement. The pitch continued to turn sharply, but its lack of pace and bounce made it less threatening than expected for batters. Several short deliveries from Australia’s tiring fast bowlers bounced before reaching wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
Josh Hazlewood summed up the difficulty of using the tactic when he was heard saying over the effects microphone: “Good luck bowling bouncers on that thing.”
Whether South Africa can extract more from the surface on the final day could prove decisive. The hosts began Friday at 4-140 and had appeared to have little prospect of setting a demanding target, but Rickelton and Mulder’s resistance changed the direction of the match.
The series has been marked by similar recoveries. Australia slipped to 6-124 in Durban before Matt Renshaw’s 190 helped secure victory, while South Africa recovered from 6-110 in Gqeberha through Temba Bavuma’s century before Australia were dismissed for 99.
The result in Cape Town will decide the series between the two highest-ranked teams, with the ICC rankings, a top-two place in the Test Championship standings and South Africa’s unbeaten home Test-series run since early 2020 also at stake.
