Lunch Australia 244 and 7 for 263 (Nevill 20*, Siddle 0*, Rabada 5-73) need another 276 runs to beat South Africa 242 and 8 for 540 dec
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Usman Khawaja made 97 but his dismissal left South Africa only on the brink of victory © Getty Images
A five-wicket haul from Kagiso Rabada put South Africa on the brink of victory at lunch on the fifth day at the WACA, where Australia lost three wickets in the session and tottered to 7 for 263. The absence of injured spearhead Dale Steyn proved no barrier for South Africa’s bowlers, who needed only three more wickets to secure a 1-0 series lead and inflict Australia’s first loss in the opening Test of a home summer since 1988.
Rabada went to lunch with 5 for 73, his mastery of swing – both conventional and reverse – and his ability to hit the widening cracks in the WACA pitch causing Australia’s batsmen all kinds of misery. He picked up two wickets in the session and JP Duminy claimed the other with his part-time offspin as South Africa tightened their already rigid grip on the match. Australia added 94 runs, but they were irrelevant in a chase of 539.
The main obstacle for South Africa was Usman Khawaja, who looked set for a century until he fell victim to Duminy’s skiddy arm ball on 97. Khawaja played back and was given out lbw, the umpire’s decision upheld on Khawaja’s half-hearted review. Australia were 6 for 246, and a little while later the seventh wicket fell when Mitchell Starc, on 13, was trapped lbw by a searing inswinging yorker from Rabada.
Rabada’s second-innings bowling in the absence of Steyn has been remarkable, and although the sight of him leaving the field to have his shoulder iced might have sent some concerns through the South African camp, he returned to bowl again. He had also claimed the first wicket of the day when Mitchell Marsh, who had managed 26, was rapped on the foot by a fullish Rabada inswinger that was initially given not out on field.
However, South Africa asked for a review and despite the late reverse swing extracted by Rabada, the ball was shown to be crashing into leg stump, and Marsh was sent on his way. The Khawaja-Marsh partnership had been worth 50 and occupied 16 overs, but those numbers were trifling compared to what Australia needed in order to salvage a draw.
Rabada was not the only man to hit the cracks on the pitch, though. With Steyn unavailable, Faf du Plessis has had to call on part-timers during this innings and Temba Bavuma was given his first chance to bowl in Test cricket. His first delivery in Tests hit a crack and straightened enough to trap Khawaja dead in front, but the umpire Nigel Llong had spotted the fact that Bavuma had overstepped. Instead of a wicket, his first delivery in Tests was a no-ball.
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo