Sports News | South Africa Frustrate Australia's Push for Unlikely Victory
Get latest articles and stories on Sports at LatestLY. South Africa's tail mounted a determined rearguard action to reach 244-7 at lunch and frustrate Australia's push for quick wickets and a series clean sweep victory on the final day of the third Test under welcome blue skies at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Sydney, Jan 8 (AP) South Africa's tail mounted a determined rearguard action to reach 244-7 at lunch and frustrate Australia's push for quick wickets and a series clean sweep victory on the final day of the third Test under welcome blue skies at Sydney Cricket Ground.
Overnight batters Simon Harmer and Marco Jansen withstood a barrage of short pitch deliveries to deny Australia a breakthrough for well over an hour on Sunday morning, before Keshav Maharaj counterpunched for the Proteas to help them to within 32 runs of the follow-on target of 275 which would effectively end Australia's push for an unlikely victory.
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To win, Australia needs to capture the three remaining South African first-innings wickets and then enforce the follow-on in a bid to bowl the Proteas out a second time — all within the remaining two sessions Sunday.
At lunch Harmer was on 45 not out from 140 balls, his highest test score, and Keshav Maharaj was unbeaten on 49 from 73 balls.
Jansen took several fearsome body blows from Pat Cummins early in the day in a courageous innings of 11 from 78 balls before his resistance was finally ended from the unlikely source of Travis Head's part-time spin.
Head (1-21) was bowling as Australia rested its quick bowlers ahead of taking the second new ball, but the part-timer managed to make the breakthrough himself when he found a thin edge off Jansen's bat which was well-taken by wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
Harmer and Maharaj then set about whittling away at the follow-on target of 275 and shared a partnership of 72 runs off 25 overs to go a long way to helping South Africa save the game.
On Saturday, Australia had a glimpse of what appeared an unlikely victory as it took six of the 20 South African wickets it needed after captain Pat Cummins declared the host's first innings at 475-4, with Usman Khawaja top scoring with 195 not out and Steve Smith making 104 for his 30th test century.
Cummins (3-53) took three wickets in a fearsome display of pace bowling at his home SCG, while Josh Hazlewood — back in the team after recovering from a side strain that kept him out for the first two tests of the series — picked up two and Nathan Lyon claimed another, amongst a clutch of several near misses, as the Proteas finished Saturday at 149-6, trailing Australia by 327 runs.
The sun is finally shining at the SCG after wet weather caused delays on the first two days before wrecking the chance of any play on Friday and up to lunch on Saturday.
A win for Australia in this third Test would confirm its place in the World Test Championship final to be played at Lord's in England in June.
Australia has already won the series after two crushing defeats for South Africa in the first two Tests at Brisbane and Melbourne. (AP)
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)