Proteas surge back to send epic series into final day

Australia need 288 to win on Saturday's fifth day in what would be their biggest fourth-innings chase in 15 years The unlikely and sometimes unfashionable duo of Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder ensured an already iconic South Africa-Australia Test series will be decided on its final day.

Having had their foot on the Proteas' throat going into their penultimate push of the third Test, Pat Cummins' men were frustrated by Rickelton (101 off 219 balls) and Mulder (115 off 221) in a stubborn 154-run stand that lifted the home side to 387 in the game's third innings. Their bowlers sterilised by a dusty but not diabolical pitch, Australia only found a way through the pair thanks to a brilliant Josh Inglis infield save and run out after they both ended up at the striker's end 318 balls into their partnership.

Mulder surging to an emotional ton in the dying light, hitting a trio of sixes when Australia had every fielder on the boundary, has left Australia needing 288 on Saturday's fifth day to set the series ledger at 2-1 in their favour. It would mark their biggest fourth-innings chase since Cummins' memorable debut at the Wanderers in 2011, and the second largest ever in Cape Town.

Mulder earnt a rousing ovation upon reaching his third Test ton from an increasingly gleeful Newlands crowd in the fourth day's final hour, having moved through the 90s with crushing cross-batted strokes off Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins. The allrounder had been satisfied to play second fiddle to the innovative but watertight Rickelton, who carefully navigated his way through the variety of strategies tried by Cummins.

A typically unhurried glance through the leg-side saw the left-hander salute his third Test hundred, and his second in as many Tests here after his 259 against Pakistan last year. Both South African centurions were willing to bat time in the sluggish conditions in which scoring was often as difficult as breaking through.

Mitchell Starc (3-65) fought valiantly through some physical discomfort, which bubbled over into several snarling moments with South Africa's equally resolute batters, to be his team's most effective bowler. The left-armer accounted for presumed player-of-the-series Marco Jansen (duck) with an accurate bouncer that came in a late collapse of 4-16, with Marnus Labuschagne landing a direct hit to catch the diving Gerald Coetzee short.

But a series of late Mulder thrashes, coming after he had erred on the watchful side through his six-hour stay, allowed the Proteas to add 36 for the final wicket. Nathan Lyon, having raised hopes of running through South Africa with his big-turning dismissal of Tembva Bavuma the previous evening, was well smothered by Mulder despite Starc's footmarks providing ample rough to aim at.

He found little turn from the lesser-churned parts of the pitch when bowling to Rickelton. Only Lyon's counterpart Simon Harmer's inexplicable decision to leave one that landed in the rough and spun into his stumps ensured his 30 overs did not go wicketless on Friday. With his team ahead by 40 runs at the day's outset, Matthew Breetzke (43 from 121) riled the Australians with his dogged attitude, if not his scratchy batting, poking his tongue out when Starc gave him a piece of his mind.

Whether that played a part in a helmeted Travis Head celebrating Breetzke's dismissal by waving his arms above his head like Donald Trump entering a rally, only Australia's opener will know. Indeed the celebrating visitors were more focused on acknowledging the successful bowler Cummins, who had somehow ended a 373-ball wicketless spell with a half-tracker down leg that Breetzke helped to fine-leg.

Mulder was unbowed by Starc continuing to vent at him, perhaps because he had perceived South Africa's No.7 was running on the pitch in an effort to chew it up for their later bowling effort. None of Australia's four main bowlers, nor the coterie of auxiliary options Cummins was forced to cycle through after the second new ball failed to break the Rickelton-Mulder union, found much assistance save for the occasional exploding Lyon off-break.

Only Inglis reading Mulder's reverse sweep – not unlike the one he had brought his hundred up day with a day prior – and then backing it up with an athletic stop and pin-point throw to the bowler Labuschagne could bring it to an end. Qantas tour of South Africa 2026 All matches to be broadcast exclusively in Australia on Kayo and Fox Cricket First Test: Australia won by 214 runs Second Test: South Africa won by an innings and 31 runs Third Test: October 27-31, Newlands, Cape Town, 7:30pm AEDT (10:30am local) South Africa Test squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster