South Africa vs Australia 2018: 4th Test, Day 2, Talking points

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Starting the day at 313/6, South Africa batted very well to get to 488 in their first innings. Temba Bavuma scored a superb 95 but was left stranded on that score. Quinton de Kock chipped in with a useful 39 while Keshav Maharaj had fun with the bat scoring 45 with the help of 4 fours and 2 sixes. The last four South African wickets put on 189 runs which propelled them to a score close to 500.

Australia with a ‘newish’ top-order faced an uphill task. But Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander took 3 early wickets and dented the Australian response. The three players (Matt Renshaw, Joe Burns and Peter Handscomb) who were drafted in for this Test match fell cheaply.

Then the experienced duo of Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh got together and defied the Proteas. However, Khawaja’s wicket opened the floodgates as Australia slipped from 90/3 to 96/6 and eventually ended the day at 110/6. Australia still trail by 378 runs and still need to score 179 runs more to avoid the follow-on. Paine along with the lower-order needs to bat out of their skins to make a match out of this now.


#5 South Africa frustrate Australia

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Tim Paine tried out all his bowlers but wickets were hard to come by

Resuming at 313/6, South Africa would’ve liked to bat at least the morning session and stretch the score close to 400. Things went South Africa’s way in the first session as Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma frustrated the Aussie bowlers with some good, solid batting.

They started slowly as they kept out the good deliveries and batted patiently. They rotated the strike well and then when the opportunity arised, they pounced on the loose deliveries. They shared a crucial 85-run stand which propelled South Africa to the 400-run mark.

Australia’s bowlers tried hard. They bowled well but couldn’t break through. The pacers beat the bat on multiple occasions but couldn’t find the edge. Eventually, it was Nathan Lyon once who broke the dangerous partnership as he dismissed de Kock for 39.

#4 Bavuma stranded on 95

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Bavuma batted really well for his unbeaten knock of 95

Temba Bavuma has had an average Test career thus far. However, he battled it out in the absence of star batsmen like AB de Villiers and JP Duminy. He stood up and fought hard against quality bowling attacks.

However, he has had a tough time since the start of 2018. With AB de Villiers coming back to Test cricket and South Africa opting for a five-bowler theory, Bavuma was dropped. He then got injured and missed out on the first two Tests against Australia. But he was drafted in place of Theunis de Bruyn in the third Test in Cape Town. He failed in both innings as the lack of match practice was evident.

But he silenced his critics in style in this fourth Test. Coming in to bat at 247/4 (when South Africa had lost two wickets in two balls), Bavuma looked solid. South Africa further slipped to 299/6 and it looked like they would be bowled out for under 350. But Bavuma was in total command.

He took time to settle down but once he found his fluency he was a treat to watch. Bavuma drove very well, used his feet against Lyon and also handled the short ball well. He got his 10th Test fifty and was set to get his 2nd Test ton but Maharaj and Morkel got out of consecutive deliveries to leave Bavuma stranded on 95.

Nevertheless, it was an excellent knock which took South Africa close to 500.

#3 Pat Cummins finally gets a fifer

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Pat Cummins took his second five-wicket haul

When an 18-year-old Pat Cummins took 6/79 in the second innings on Test debut in Johannesburg and helped Australia win the series 2-1, he was tipped to be the next fast bowling superstar for Australia. However, injuries have played a major role in his career as he couldn’t play another Test match until March 2017. However, he made a superb and a successful comeback.

And six and a half years later, he took his second fifer in Test cricket at the same venue where he made his spectacular Test debut. Pat Cummins has been Australia’s best bowler throughout the summer. However, he has also been very unlucky. He has run in all day and troubled the batsmen on a regular basis.

Even today, he bowled well in the morning but couldn’t provide a breakthrough for Australia. He went past the outside edge on numerous occasions but couldn’t get wickets. But just when things were getting out of control for Australia, he dismissed Keshav Maharaj and Morne Morkel off consecutive deliveries to end the South African innings. He finished with a deserving fifer (5/83).

#2 The ‘new’ Australian top order crumbles

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Matt Renshaw and Joe Burns have opened for Queensland together but they couldn't handle the Proteas pace attack as they fell cheaply

With David Warner, Cameron Bancroft and Steve Smith banned, three of the top-order batsmen were playing their first Test in South Africa. Even though all three of them (Matt Renshaw, Joe Burns and Peter Handscomb) were a part of the Australian Test team during some part of the last three years, this was going to be a totally different ball game.

Against the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, and Morne Morkel, it was going to be a tough ask for these (relatively) new-comers. Joe Burns (4) was the first to depart as the No. 1 ranked Test bowler nicked him off to second slip.

Philander who has been relatively quiet in this series picked up two wickets in two overs. He first dismissed Renshaw for 8 as the latter chased a wide delivery and nicked it to de Kock. Handscomb then chopped on as indecision led to an inside-edge shattering his stumps. His return to Test cricket was a poor one as he was dismissed for a golden duck.

With these three new-comers gone, Australia were reeling at 38/3.

#1 Khawaja, Marsh fight but South Africa in total control

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Khawaja's dismissal opened the floodgates for South Africa

The experience Steve Smith and David Warner brought to the Australian batting line-up was immense and once they were banned, it was always going to be difficult for this rejigged batting line-up to stand-up and deliver especially chasing South Africa’s first innings total of 488.

The three new batsmen were all back in the hut inside 13 overs and Australia were in trouble at 38/3. But the experienced duo of Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja defied the South African bowlers very well. They put on 52 runs for the fourth wicket and batted for almost 18 overs.

Khawaja, in particular, looked fluent for large parts of his innings and got his 12th Test fifty. The elder Marsh was also fighting hard. He wasn’t scoring fluently but held firm. But Philander probed away and dismissed Khawaja and picked up his 3rd wicket of the innings.

And just when it looked like the Marsh brothers would safely take the Aussies to stumps, Mitchell Marsh went for a big booming drive only to see his stumps shattered. Morne Morkel playing his last Test match got his wicket.

Maharaj then joined the act. He had bowled very well and deserved a wicket. He finally got one in his 7th over when Shaun Marsh nicked one to slip where AB de Villiers took a good catch. Tim Paine and Pat Cummins then saw off the remaining overs as Australia ended the day at 110/6.

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Edited by Kishan Prasad