South Africa vs Australia: 3rd Test, Day 2, Review- Lower order saves the day for the Aussies

Camron Bancroft top-scored for Australia with 77, while Morkel picked up four wickets.

Published - 23 Mar 2018, 22:35 IST | Updated - 23 Mar 2018, 22:35 IST

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The first day’s play in the South Africa vs Australia 3rd Test saw both the teams straining every muscle to overpower each other. South Africa clearly had the upper hand as Dean Elgar and AB de Villiers stamped their authority. However, Patrick Cummins clinched the ascendancy from the Proteas with some late blows which pushed them on the back-foot to some extent.

The second day was speculated to dish exciting cricket as well. While Australia would have wished to wrap up the South African innings as early as possible, the hosts looked to get some vital runs under their belt. With the score reading 266 for eight, the overnight pair of Elgar and Kagiso Rabada looked determined and stitched together a stand of 50 runs.

The pre-lunch session goes to South Africa

However, Nathan Lyon got rid of Rabada with a graceful delivery, which found the left-hander’s outside-edge. Morne Morkel was dismissed soon after by Lyon. Meanwhile, Elgar remained unbeaten after playing a stupendous knock and also carried his bat through. South Africa were bundled out for 311 runs, which could have been far more had Cummins not picked up the late wickets.

Australia got themselves off to a flier as David Warner went hell for leather from the outset. He scorched away to 30 runs off 14 balls, which included a monstrous hit over the ropes. However, Rabada dished out a vicious delivery, which castled the Australian opener. More importantly, the situation restored sanity back into proceedings.

Morne Morkel, who is playing this penultimate Test, nipped out Usman Khawaja right before lunch. The lanky fast bowler hurled a bouncer at Khawaja and the batsman attempted a pull. However, the shot was mistimed as Rabada, patrolling the fine leg region, pouched a simple catch. The session clearly belonged to South Africa as they dictated terms with both ball and bat.

Proteas continue their domination

They started the post-lunch session in an impressive manner as Morkel pinned skipper Steve Smith to give Australia their third jolt. Meanwhile, Cameron Bancroft broadcast grit and staved off the venom by the Proteas pace-battery and notched his third half-century in Tests. Bancroft along with Shaun Marsh carved a partnership of 78 runs, which started to look ominous for the South Africans.

Nevertheless, Morne Morkel found Marsh’s outside edge, which gave South Africa the much-needed breakthrough. Meanwhile, Morkel also bagged his 300th wicket in Test cricket. The visitors were jolted when Cameron Bancroft was trapped in front of the wickets by Vernon Philander. The comeback initiated by Marsh and Bancroft was definitely undone with the strikes before tea.

Paine and Lyon save the day for the Aussies

The South Africans continued their stupendous form in the post-tea session as well. Mitchell Marsh, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc succumbed pretty early. Morne Morkel picked up his fourth wicket when the younger of the Marsh brothers feathered the leather to Quinton de Kock’s webbings. Rabada got rid of Cummins and Starc without dropping much sweat.

Australia, at one stage, were tottering with the score reading 175 for the loss of eight wickets. Meanwhile, they still trailed by a mammoth 136 runs. However, Tim Paine and Nathan Lyon displayed a blend of resilience and aggression. While Paine put his head down and countered the bowling. Lyon employed an aggressive approach.

The duo built a partnership of 66 runs in 71 balls, which reduced the trail by a significant margin. The off-spinner smacked eight boundaries in his knock of 47 runs off 38 balls. Nevertheless, Morkel accounted for his dismissal courtesy a brilliant catch by Elgar at point. South Africa still have 66 runs to play with as the game moves into the third day, which is expected to be no less exciting than the first two days.