A Deciding Morning at Newlands
South Africa bowled Australia out for 111 on the fifth day at Newlands to win the third Test by 176 runs and take the three-match series 2-1. Set 288 to win, the tourists lost their way badly, slumping to 60-7 by lunch and losing their final wicket before tea. It was the lowest fourth-innings total Australia has managed against South Africa, falling below the 107 it made at the same Cape Town ground in 2018.[S2][S3]
Kagiso Rabada did the early damage, removing Matt Renshaw for a golden duck caught down the leg side and then trapping Marnus Labuschagne leg before for four as the batter offered no shot. Australia were 5-2 after one over. Rabada finished with 3-39 and reached 350 Test wickets, getting there faster than any bowler before him, including his compatriot Dale Steyn.[S2]
Simon Harmer then took over. The 37-year-old offspinner returned a career-best 6-16 and match figures of 10-120, his first ten-wicket haul in Tests. He had Alex Carey caught at backward point, saw Cooper Connolly taken behind for a two-ball duck, and removed Mitchell Starc at short leg when the ball looped off the pad. Starc faced 25 balls without scoring.[S2]
How the Hosts Turned the Match
Australia had led by 100 runs after making 429 in reply to South Africa's 329. The hosts then posted 387 in their second innings, with Wiaan Mulder and Ryan Rickelton both scoring centuries on the fourth day to set up the 288-run target. That recovery turned a deficit into a winning position and left the visitors needing a large chase on a surface offering help to both pace and spin.[S1][S2]
After lunch Cameron Green and Pat Cummins held out for 73 balls, Green unbeaten on 27, before Harmer ended the resistance. Harmer was named player of the match, and his ten-wicket display was the first by a South African spinner against Australia since 1952.[S2]
Bavuma Hails His Squad
Captain Temba Bavuma called the outcome the finest series he has been part of, crediting the character of the group and the bowling unit for carrying the side through changing conditions. He said the attack has been the foundation of South Africa's success, able to deliver whether the pitch favours seam or spin, and he praised Harmer as a competitor despite an earlier disappointment in Gqeberha.[S1]
Bavuma also noted that his team often performs best when it is chasing the game, and he acknowledged that Australia had impressed his players at points during the 15 days of cricket. He described regaining the top ranking as exceptional and part of the squad's ambition to lift standards and leave the Proteas in a stronger position.[S1]
The captain said the team would let the emotions of the achievement settle before turning to preparations for Bangladesh, with a meeting planned after a week. South Africa lost the opening Test in Durban by 214 runs, won the second in Gqeberha by an innings and 31 runs, and completed the turnaround in Cape Town.[S1][S2]
