AUS vs SA: South Africa in trouble has lost two most important batsman in five overs

• South Africa lose two of its top three batsmen in five overs against Aussies.
• Mitchell Starc takes 300th Test wicket with ball that crept through his bat-pad gap.
• Cameron Green half-volleyed Kagiso Rabada to put hosts ahead.

AUS vs SA: South Africa is setting Australia a fourth-innings goal after only four sessions. Australia was knocked out for 218 to take a 66-run advantage, and South Africa lost two of its top three batsmen in five overs by the Australian opening bowlers.

Travis Head’s 92 showed that the surface is difficult to bat on, but not impossible. Dean Elgar was bowled with a Pat Cummins length delivery on the fourth ball of the innings.

He reviewed, hoping the bounce would take the ball over the stumps, but was out on umpire’s call with tracking showing the delivery clipped middle-stump.

The greatest was yet to come after that dismissal. Mitchell Starc bowled Rassie van der Dussen for his 300th Test wicket with a ball that crept through his bat-pad gap. Starc is Australia’s seventh 300-wicket bowler.

Kagiso Rabada’s evening over gave Australia the lead in five deliveries. Cameron Green half-volleyed Rabada to put the hosts ahead. Green repeated the shot in Rabada’s next two overs, forcing him out early.

But Australia lost. Rabada was replaced by Marco Jansen, who struck twice in his first over. Green hit a powerful drive off Jansen’s second half-volley. He only managed a thick edge that Keshav Maharaj caught.

Sarel Erwee went behind Maharaj to catch the ball. Head then appeared to glove a short ball down leg side to Kyle Verreynne. Hotspot showed nothing, but Snicko showed a spike that verified he hit glove and shirt.

His 96-ball inning was 92. Alex Carey and the bottom order needed to increase Australia’s lead above 50. Starc lofted Jansen over mid-off and pulled Anrich Nortje through mid-wicket for 31 with Alex Carey. Carey raced effectively in his limited innings, hitting 12 singles, two threes, and a four.

They pushed Australia’s lead to over 60 before Lungi Ngidi broke through. Starc blasted Ngidi’s opening ball across mid-on for four and his last ball too.

Ngidi made a superb return catch after lowering himself. Rabada bowled Cummins with three short balls. Cummins was given out but successfully reviewed.

The ball hit the arm guard, replays showed. Nortje was waiting at mid-wicket when Cummins pulled the second and third. Rabada finished the innings with four wickets and passed Stuart Broad to become the leading Test seamer of 2022.

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