Player of the Match
Player of the Match

3.33pm After a day and half of the first session on the second morning, it looked like Australia would run away with the match. Then, Dale Steyn went down to injury and everything turned around rather quickly. Rabada, Philander and Maharaj helped bowl Australia out and restrict their lead to just two. A fantastic batting effort saw them ensure they couldn't lose as Faf declared with a lead of 538. After grinding away, chipping away, toiling away with one fast bowler short, South Africa found enough. Peter Nevill and Usman Khawaja were excellent in the second innings, but their rearguard effort was nowhere near enough. This surely will go down as one of South Africa's best test wins, considering the position they were in early on the second day. Australia will have to find a way to put this loss behind them. South Africa are a spirited side, but Australia too showed plenty of fight on the final day. Hobart will be the venue for the next Test. Australia definitely can, but will they level the series going into the much-awaited day-night Test in Adelaide?

Presentation time.

Kagiso Rabada is the Man of the Match: "I'm very proud of how the team pulled it together. We lost Dale, he's a key aspect of the game. All the bowlers have a job to do, when Dale is gone, it means we have to do extra. You hear a lot of stories where quick bowlers do well here (at the WACA). Similar to the Wanderers back home. Still a bit flat though. Australia also got he ball to reverse. We executed really well. I can confidently say there will not be too much bowling over the next few days, but I'll be ready for Hobart if I get chosen."

Steven Smith: "After the first day, we were in a reasonable position. We weren't able to capitalise and claw out way back. I've thought a lot about it (the collapse). Credit to Duminy and Elgar, their partnership took it away. We've had a few collapses of late in recent Test cricket, something we need to improve on. We try and let go of this performance. Have to play better cricket. SA played some great cricket throughout the Test."

Faf du Plessis: "It's never easy with two seamers. KG was phenomenal, to run in for 30 overs. Disappointed with the way we played on the first day, we wanted to come back on the second day. Since that day 1, we were unbelievable. Not much happening, but everyone put their hand up. Maharaj had a job today, to tie up one end. He was awesome, bowled a beautiful line and length, ensured the scoreboard didn't tick too quickly."

119.1
W
Maharaj to Lyon, OUT, and given by umpire Llong. Lyon reviews. Flat delivery on middle and leg, the ball drifts on with the arm. Lyon gets a giant front-foot stride and is beaten on the inside edge. Two reds, one orange as umpire's call as the ball is just clipping the leg stump. South Africa seal a stunning comeback to beat Australia by 177 runs and go 1-0 up in the three-match series

NM Lyon lbw b Maharaj 8 (26m 22b 1x4 0x6) SR: 36.36

Maharaj.

Stuart: "Could not have asked for anything more from Nevill - this is exactly the kind of innings our 1-6 needed to play. Test cricket is so often about survival. "

END OF OVER:
119 | (maiden) | AUS: 361/9

  • Peter Nevill60 (153b)
  • Nathan Lyon8 (21b)
  • Vernon Philander22-7-55-1
  • Temba Bavuma7-1-29-1
118.6
0
Philander to Nevill, no run, maiden. Good length delivery outside off and Nevill leaves
118.5
0
Philander to Nevill, no run, keeps a tad low. Full outside off, Nevill defends. Well played
118.4
0
Philander to Nevill, no run, full and wide outside off, 127 kph. Good leave
118.3
0
Philander to Nevill, no run, good length outside off, left alone
118.2
0
Philander to Nevill, no run, full and straight, close to off. Blocked

Rajat: "Great effort from Nevill - has played 200 balls in this match which is more than any other Aussie batter. "

118.1
0
Philander to Nevill, no run, good length on middle, 124 kph. Pushed down to long-on. Nevill declines the run

Philander comes on.

END OF OVER:
118 | 3 Runs | AUS: 361/9

  • Nathan Lyon8 (21b)
  • Peter Nevill60 (147b)
  • Temba Bavuma7-1-29-1
  • Keshav Maharaj40-10-94-0
117.6
0
Bavuma to Lyon, no run, a low full toss outside off, driven to a deep mid-off
117.5
0
Bavuma to Lyon, no run, fullish and wide outside off, 117 kph. Left alone

Philander limbering up

117.4
0
Bavuma to Lyon, no run, good length outside off, 116 kph. Pushed to cover
117.3
0
Bavuma to Lyon, no run, big appeal. Faf reviews. No, says umpire Llong. Full on the pads, in front of leg. May be sliding down, but you never know. Missing the stumps says Hawkeye. Good call from the umpire. Comes back in late from Bavuma, well bowled
117.2
2
Bavuma to Lyon, 2 runs, full and wide, crashed through the cover region for a couple more
117.1
1
Bavuma to Nevill, 1 run, low full toss outside off, pushed to deep cover for one more

END OF OVER:
117 | 3 Runs | AUS: 358/9

  • Nathan Lyon6 (16b)
  • Peter Nevill59 (146b)
  • Keshav Maharaj40-10-94-0
  • Temba Bavuma6-1-26-1
116.6
0
Maharaj to Lyon, no run, driven with the spin this time, but straight to cover
116.5
0
Maharaj to Lyon, no run,
116.4
0
Maharaj to Lyon, no run, worked against the spin to midwicket. Faf fires a throw and hits Vilas on the back at short leg
116.3
1
Maharaj to Nevill, 1 run, Nevill comes down and pushes to cover for a quick run

Raju: "Now you know why Faf delayed the declaration. Had he set a target of even 420, which is a record chase, Australia is only 65 short now. 3 bowlers on a true wicket is a massive challenge to maneuver. "

116.2
2
Maharaj to Nevill, 2 runs, shortish outside off, cut down to backward point for a couple. Playing it late

Anand: "Respect to Australia for the fight back. They are still holding on! The only thing they did not have is one big partnership. If they had 4 wickets in hand, it is a game on! Respect aussies!"

116.1
0
Maharaj to Nevill, no run, flat on off, defended

Maharaj returns.

END OF OVER:
116 | 1 Run | AUS: 355/9

  • Nathan Lyon6 (13b)
  • Peter Nevill56 (143b)
  • Temba Bavuma6-1-26-1
  • Jean-Paul Duminy17-1-51-1
115.6
0
Bavuma to Lyon, no run, too wide and left alone

Narender: "Bavuma dropped Steve yesterday and Josh today but also got Dave and Josh at crucial moments. Well done!"

115.5
0
Bavuma to Lyon, no run, 117 kph, full and wide outside off, goes past the outside edge

Fielders disperse to the boundary

WACA again

2012

Last time Australia lost a home Test, before this - also to South Africa at WACA by 309 runs. They had won 14 of the 18 Tests since then and four were drawn.

Khawaja in good flow

65

Previous highest score for Khawaja in second innings. He has gone past that score. All his four centuries had come in 1st innings.

Big task

406

Australia's highest score in the fourth-innings of Tests, which came at Lord's in 2009. They have been set a target of 539 in this match.

Enough to win?

414

Highest total in the 4th inns of a Test at WACA, by South Africa in 2008-09. South Africa's lead has already gone past that mark.

Elgar's best

121

Previous highest score for Elgar in Tests, which came against WI in Port Elizabeth 2014-15. He has gone past that mark in this innings.

Doing it again

3

No. of instances of two centuries for visiting team in the 3rd inns of a Test at WACA, including this. Two of those have been by SA; they did the same in 2012-13.

Duminy vs Australia

3

No. of 100's made by Duminy against Aus. This is his 1st 100 against any team in the 2nd inn of a Test.Previously he made 166 in Melbourne and 123 in Port Elizabeth.

Elgar and Duminy Partnership

1

Number of 100 + partnerships for the 3rd wicket for South Africa in Australia since readmission before today. Kallis and Amla added 165 in Brisbane in 2012.

Rare Failure

1

Total runs scored by Hashim Amla in this Test match. This is the lowest he has scored in a Test match since 2006. Previous instance was vs India in Durban.

Back with a bang

4/56

Philander's best bowling figures in Australia. During his previous tour in 2012 he took only 4 wickets from 67 overs in 2 matches.

Rare Collapse

1978

Previous instance when Aus lost their top 5 wkts for fewer than 23 runs at home.They have gone from 158/0 to 181/5.Last time this happened was vs Eng in Brisbane

Warner vs Steyn

4

Number of times Steyn has dismissed Warner. Warner has scored 207 runs against him at a SR of 96.2.