AUS vs SA Test Series 2:0 – Australia Proteas by an Inning and 182 runs: Things were already looking not in favour of South Africa at the end of day 4 when the day ended with South Africa 15/1, losing their captain Dean Elgar for a duck. The way things were, a loss was being seen for proteas.
However, a solid fight was expected from them to avoid the inning defeat, at least. Still, as expected, they couldn’t resist the Australian bowling attack, and all remaining nine wickets fell after adding 189 runs to the total.
As mentioned above, Day 4 started with Erwee and De Bruyn on the pitch after Australian skipper Pat Cummins sent South African captain Dean Elgar back to the hut during just seven overs of bowling yesterday.
He delivered a short ball down the leg side. Elgar tried to flick it off his hip but only Gloves it on its way. Alex Carey ran forward and took a brilliant low catch; that is the second time Elgar got out this way in this series.
Moving forward, Erwee and De Bruyn started the day for Proteas and added thirty-seven runs to the tally before Mitchell Starc drew first blood on day four by sending Erwee back to the hut. He nailed the Yorker on the middle; Erwee tried to dig it out but got late to put his bat down and got hit on the toe first.
Aussies made an enormous appeal, but the umpire’s finger stayed down. Cummins went with the DRS, where Snicko and Hotspot confirmed the ball hit his boots first before the bat, and ball tracking showed all three red reds. Erwee got out after scoring 21, his highest in the series so far.
Just ten runs in the tally after Erwee returned to the pavilion, No. 3 batsman de Bruyn also gave away his wicket after scoring 28 runs, continuing his poor run of form. This time, Scott Boland drew the blood, delivering a good-length ball, nipping away a bit off the deck.
De Bruyn stayed back and blocked it but got a thick outside edge, and Steve Smith took a brilliant catch in the slip before Marnus Labuschagne tried to catch and then pulled out his hands on time.
With 57/3, Zondo joined Bavuma on the pitch, and it looked like they would save their team at least from inning defeat, given their performance in this series. However, Bavuma’s silly decision to run for a single after tapping on the covers with soft hands.
Birthday boy Travis ran forward toward the ball and drove on towards the striker’s end to a direct hit, making things from bad to worse for South Africa as Khaya Zondo returned to the pavilion after scoring just one.
Kyle Verreynne and Temba Bavuma resisted the Aussies’ bowling attack for a while and made a 63-run partnership before Scott Boland took the former. Boland served a full delivery in the middle. Kyle tried to flick it away but missed and got rapped around his pads. After an enormous appeal, the umpire raised his finger.
Kyle asked for the review where Snicko and Hotspot confirmed no bat was involved, and then ball tracking showed all three reds, ending his inning of 33 runs. After that, Bavuma created small partnerships with Jansen (5) and Keshav Maharaj (13) before losing his wicket to Nathan Lyon, who landed a tossed-up delivery.
“Horror Show Continues”, Australia Proteas by an Inning and 182 runs, Clinch the AUS vs SA Test Series 2-0:
Bavuma got down on one knee to go for a slog sweep. He didn’t make proper contact with the ball, resulting in the ball going high in the air towards mid, where the substitute fielder, Marcus Harris, took a fine catch.
For Australia, Nathan Lyon was the most successful bowler in this innings, taking three wickets for 58. Scott Boland took two, but Pat Cummins also was at his best, conceded just 20 runs in 16 overs, used DRS successfully and removed Sarel Erwee and Marco Jansen by that.
Proteas would surely be disappointed by another poor batting display, two run-outs and poor selection of shots. This loss also meant South Africa’s streak of three consecutive series wins in Australia broke down, and Australia won its first home series against South Africa since 2005-06.
Moreover, this loss cost them very much in the context of the World Test Championship as well. They were second in the World Test Championship rankings, but now, their chances of qualifying for the final are hanging by a thread, and they must need to win the third test to remain in the race for the Final in June 2023.
