SA vs AUS | Cummins, Rabada and Ngidi shine as match evenly poised after second day’s play

‌Starting the day at a precarious 43/4, the overnight pair of skipper Temba Bavuma and David Bedingham were off to a positive start with the former being the aggressor. He scored two lofted boundaries on the off-side off Mitchell Starc in the third over of the day and later pulled Pat Cummins for the first six of the match to set the tone. Bedingham looked solid from the other end as the pair slowly pulled South Africa out of the woods. But after adding 64 valuable runs with Bedingham, the Proteas skipper departed for 36, against the run of play, while going for another ambitious drive with Marnus Labuschagne completing a good catch off Pat Cummins’ bowling. But Bedingham and new batter Kyle Verreynne ensured that the side did not lose another wicket finishing at 121/5, an addition of 78 runs losing only one wicket in the first session.

With overcast conditions making their way once again, the start of play after lunch was delayed due to a slight drizzle. That played into the hands of the Australian quicks with captain Pat Cummins making full use of the conditions to strike twice in the third over after the restart to leave the batting side reeling at 126/7. The pacer completed his 14th five-wicket haul in Test cricket with a peach of a delivery to dismiss Bedingham who nicked to wicketkeeper Alex Carey. When Cummins dismissed Rabada for his sixth of the innings, the South African innings folded up for 138 with the last five wickets falling for only 12 runs. Bedingham, who scored six fours in his knock of 45, was the only other batter than Bavuma to cross the 20-run mark as they ended up conceding a lead of 74 runs to the defending champions. Cummins finished with impressive figures of 6/28 while Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood picked up two and one wickets, respectively.

South Africa once again hoped for an inspired spell from Kagiso Rabada, their top wicket-taker in the first innings. He ran in hard and his grit was finally rewarded when he struck twice in his sixth straight over when he accounted for Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green. Both batters edged deliveries to be caught in similar fashion just as in the first innings as Australia sat shakily at 32/2 when tea was called.

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne tried to build a partnership in a bid to increase Australia’s advantage further but the latter departed to Marco Jansen, once again in striking similarity to the first essay, with the tall pacer coming around the wicket to induce an edge. With the third pacer Lungi Ngidi also joining the party trapping the in-form Steve Smith in front the very next over, the game was cut open and sat on a knife’s edge. The Proteas skipper Bavuma’s review proved a masterstroke as replays showed the ball brushing a shuffling Smith’s front pad before hitting his back leg. Ngidi was in action again as he dismissed Beau Webster and skipper Cummins in back-to-back overs and with Wiaan Mulder striking in between to see the back of Travis Head, South Africa was well back in the contest reducing the Aussies to 73/7. But the left-handed pair of Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc put on a fighting stand of 61 for the eighth wicket to stretch the lead beyond the 200-run mark. But Carey became Rabada’s third dismissal as the Aussies ended the day at 144/8 to take the overall lead to 218 with Rabada and Ngidi registering figures of 3/44 and 3/35, respectively.