South Africa vs Australia 2018: Which side will be happier at half way stage?

The Test series between two powerhouses, tied at 1-1 after two matches, has so far been riveting and has also matched every cricket lovers’ expectation of it being a close contest.

The Durban and Port Elizabeth Tests saw just about everything – Mitchell Starc’s magic with the old ball, Nathan Lyon showing why he is one of the best spinners currently, the young Aiden Markram showcasing his potential, AB de Villiers’ magic with the willow, Kagiso Rabada’s exceptional talent and some non-cricketing drama to go along with the on-field excellence.

After the Durban Test, one thought that Australia are well equipped to continue their great run in South Africa with another series win before Faf du Plessis’ men turned it around at Port Elizabeth in the second Test. It’s all fair and square with two more matches to go and if you ask me which team has all the momentum and advantage, I would say it’s the home side, South Africa.

Here are a few reasons why they will be the happier side at this stage of the series:

AB’s form and Steven Smith’s poor run

When two of the best bowling attacks come up against each other, the onus of scoring runs falls on the best batsman in their respective sides. It was a no-brainer that the mantle was on Steven Smith and AB de Villiers, two of the best batsmen in this generation.

AB de Villiers has been in tremendous form and has surely turned back the clock

While Smith has got starts, he hasn’t been able to convert them into big hundreds, which we are so accustomed to seeing in the last couple of years. On the other hand, de Villiers has been in tremendous form and has surely turned back the clock with some classical strokeplay. His unbeaten hundred in Port Elizabeth has to be one of the best Test innings not only because of the strong opposition bowling attack but also had to score lots of runs with the lower order batsmen. It was almost "Larasque" in terms of toying with the field and hitting boundaries at will.

The worrying aspect from Smith’s point of view is the way he has been getting out in a similar pattern. Out of the 4 dismissals so far, left-arm spin has got him thrice. Keshav Maharaj has come up with great plans in bowling on the fourth stump and having a strong off-side field, thereby cutting down on his boundary options.

Australia’s over-reliance on their captain

With the bowling attack that Australia possess, any score of over 350 is going to be a huge challenge for the opposition and that has been their template for success in recent times. On most occasions, Smith has been incredibly consistent and because of that, other batsmen’s shortcomings have not been exposed.

Keshav Maharaj has come up with great plans in bowling on the fourth stump

Even though David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Bancroft, Shaun Marsh and Mitch Marsh have got the fifties in this series, none have gone on to make a significant contribution and that’s where Smith has been so good over a period. There is no doubt that Australia rely very heavily on their captain and that can be a worrying sign especially against a good bowling attack because you are bound to get “jaffa’s” from time to time and that's when others have to step up and be counted.

SA batsmen coming out with a plan

Almost every South African batsmen have struck some form and when they do, the likes of Amla, de Villiers, du Plessis and Quinton de Kock can be a strong batting unit. More importantly, they have come up with better plans to negate Starc and co, especially against the reverse swing with the older ball.

Amla, AB, Faf and De Kock form a strong batting unit

At Port Elizabeth, Amla and Elgar decided to tire out the Aussie bowlers and even though they scored only 43 runs during the session between lunch and tea, they ensured no wickets went down when the ball started to reverse swing. The middle and lower middle order made full use of the tiring Aussie bowlers and eventually put on a sizeable first innings score that went a long way in winning the Test.

Even though the series is tied at 1-1, South Africa would very well know that the momentum is with them despite the absence of Kagiso Rabada in the final Two Tests at Cape Town and Johannesburg.