Twitter Reactions: Australia stare down the barrel, Proteas eye victory

Australia fought back with determination on the third day of the final Test at the Wanderers in Johannesburg. Tim Paine and Patrick Cummins dished out a couple of gutsy half-centuries and the bowlers bowled their hearts out. However, it was never going to be enough bearing in mind the dominance South Africa had over the visitors for the first couple of days.

Du Plessis masterful ton propels lead

The fourth day turned out to be synonymous to a nightmare for Paine’s ‘already demoralized’ bunch of boys. Meanwhile, the Proteas left no stone unturned in order to further pile on the agony for the Aussies. Dean Elgar and Faf du Plessis carried on with their overnight partnership and racked 170 runs. Elgar showed tremendous amount of resilience and took the sting out of the Aussie bowlers.

On the other hand, du Plessis played some aggressive strokes to get the scoreboard moving. The skipper was struck by a bouncer on the fingers after which he flung his right hand in pain. However, he didn’t allow the injury to unnerve him. He carried on and raced away to his eighth century in Test cricket. Following the partnership, the hosts lost the wickets of du Plessis, Elgar and Quinton de Kock in quick succession.

Australia strain but Proteas in command  

Nevertheless, Temba Bavuma and Vernon Philander dished out some lusty blows after which South Africa declared at tea with a gigantic target of 612 for Australia to chase. During the run chase, Matt Renshaw had a painful vigil of 42 balls for five runs and was eventually trapped in front by Morne Morkel. Usman Khawaja played a brilliant hand in the first innings, however, he couldn’t repeat the same.

The Islamabad-born cricketer was nipped out by Keshav Maharaj when the left-hander didn’t offer a stroke. The batsman took the Decision Review System (DRS), however, the decision was upheld. Peter Handscomb found the boundaries on three occasions, however, became Morkel’s second victim. Bad light eventually stopped play with Australia requiring 524 runs to win or rather a day to save the game.

Here’s how Twitter reacted following another South Africa-dominated day

Meanwhile… what are Sth Africa doing? I think 600 is enough boys..
my god! #SAVAUS

— Dean Jones (@ProfDeano) April 2, 2018

Not sure what South Africa are doing out there, just blocking & boring everyone, they’re 158/3 off 65 overs & 425 ahead. We want Test Match cricket to survive & be exciting, this is not a good advertisement for the game. Get on with it & declare !!

— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) April 2, 2018

Tim Paine is quite a likable Aussie. I will go wash myself in bleach now. #SAvAUS

— Name Cannot Be Blank (@Sarcasmisms) April 2, 2018

Half of the team injured, still giving 100%, bowlers got much needed rest as batsmen kept piling runs, tomorrow they can attack with much higher intensity #ProteaFire #SAvAUS #Wanderers

— pIyUsH jAiSwAl (@piyushj_31) April 2, 2018

Well that's Stumps on day 4. Nothing much to put. 3 down with a whole day to play. South Africa have won the series, they will not lose this match. #SAvAUS

— Lùçàs ?? ⚽? (@3PTperfection) April 2, 2018

An excellent day of cricket for South Africa! Australia will need to score about 6 an over to get a sniff at a win tomorrow with only 7 wickets remaining ?? #SAvAUS

— Hans-Erik Iken (@HansErikIken) April 2, 2018

First the Australian Skipper Tim Paine scored a fifty with a Fractured thumb,

Now, the South African, Skipper Faf Du Plessis has scored a Hundred with an Injured Finger, #SAvAUS

— Kohli (@VirattOfficial) April 2, 2018

Shaun Marsh should have been out by now. 27.3 or 27.4 where he edged the ball off Maharaj. Had there been a 2nd slip – he was gone #FafDuplessis #SAvAUS

— Naruto (@Naruto56352410) April 2, 2018

Imminent and historic series win #SAvAus. Man of the match – prob Aiden Markram. Man of the moment – Morné Morkel, bowing out on a high. Man of the series – Dali Mpofu, without him we would not have had the leading wicket taker of the series, Kagiso Rabada. #LegendAt23

— Gareth Stead (@garethstead) April 2, 2018

Mainly 4 more wickets & tail is up . So they should focus on getting the middle order quickly. I hope Faf have an aggressive field placing unlike today #SAvAUS

— Naruto (@Naruto56352410) April 2, 2018

Morne morkel playing his last test decided to bowl despite of ankle injury and manages to get 2 wicket . @keshavmaharaj16 may have to bowl a Marathon spell tommorow if Austalia batsman play well from here. #SAVAUS

— Advitiya Srivastava (@Advitya08) April 2, 2018

Bad light stops play? Bullshit! Really? You're pulling my leg … #RSAvAUS #SAvAUS

— HusseyKatichCowan (@GenXMouse) April 2, 2018

Forget the light meters.
Take an extra half hour.
This match and series deserve to end in chaos in the dark, like 2007 WC final #SAvAUS

— Colin Fry (@colinfry666) April 2, 2018

#SAvAUS it’s no wonder the grounds 9/10 empty ! Coming off the ground with massive lighting and spinners ! I wouldn’t pay a cent to go to watch a test match !

— Mark_Shane (@simonquer) April 2, 2018

I try to save Dean Elgar & Faf du Plessis' picture & twitter decides to act up ?? #SAvAUS #ProteaFire

— Cricket Babe (@LadyCharlotte01) April 2, 2018

Well batted @phandscomb54 & @shaunmarsh9 Here's hoping for a Ranchi reenactment tomorrow ????? #RSAvAUS #SAvAUS

— HusseyKatichCowan (@GenXMouse) April 2, 2018

Positive is Handscomb & Marsh survived for a draw in India on a deck 300x harder than this. Just need the same mindset & respect on their wicket. #SAvAUS.

— Cricket Australia Fan (@CricketAustFan) April 2, 2018

Is it just me, or is Pete Handscomb a dead ringer for Steve Smith?? They look so much alike! #SAvAUS

— Brian Zhang (@BrianZhangyy) April 2, 2018

#SAvAUS The umpires are coming together at the end of every over to discuss whether or not play should continue as the light begins to fade. They have decided to stay on the field for now. AUS 84/3.

— EWN Sport (@EWNsport) April 2, 2018