Australia started the game on day-3 afresh after they sent the Proteas packing for a paltry 162 yesterday [Friday] at the Kingsmead. With a 189-run lead, no wonder the Baggy Greens were already on the driving seat. However, South Africa tried hard to knock the Aussies off their perch but the host’s 1^st innings deficit has still left them out of contention.

The Kangaroos finished the day losing nine of their wickets with 213 runs on the board and are now leading by a good 402 runs after the third day. After a 56-run opening partnership, David Warner returned to the pavilion after registering 28 runs to the team total.

Another opener – Cameron Bancroft picked up his half-century and made 53 runs. Following his dismissal, Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh scored 38 and 33 runs, respectively. The rest of the batsmen failed to put enough runs on the board and kept leaving the crease in succession.

Morne Morkel and Keshav Maharaj bagged 3 wickets each and Kagiso Rabada took 2 scalps whereas Dean Elgar got a wicket as well. Vernon Philander could not add any wickets to his name before the umpire called the stumps as the lights started to deteriorate.

With the pitch turning more and offering a variable bounce, it will surely be tough for the hosts to meet the expectations. The Proteas will have to show a lot of improvement in their first innings effort. Australia, on the other hand, have enough up their sleeves to prevent any unexpected consequences and will be eyeing to start the series with a win which appears to be just a matter of time right now.