South Africa vs Australia 2018: 4th Test, Day 2, Talking points

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Starting the day at 313/6, South Africa batted very well to get to 488 in their first innings. Temba Bavuma scored a superb 95 but was left stranded on that score. Quinton de Kock chipped in with a useful 39 while Keshav Maharaj had fun with the bat scoring 45 with the help of 4 fours and 2 sixes. The last four South African wickets put on 189 runs which propelled them to a score close to 500.

Australia with a ‘newish’ top-order faced an uphill task. But Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander took 3 early wickets and dented the Australian response. The three players (Matt Renshaw, Joe Burns and Peter Handscomb) who were drafted in for this Test match fell cheaply.

Then the experienced duo of Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh got together and defied the Proteas. However, Khawaja’s wicket opened the floodgates as Australia slipped from 90/3 to 96/6 and eventually ended the day at 110/6. Australia still trail by 378 runs and still need to score 179 runs more to avoid the follow-on. Paine along with the lower-order needs to bat out of their skins to make a match out of this now.

#5 South Africa frustrate Australia

Image result for South Africa vs Australia 2018: 4th Test, Day 2 de Kock — Tim Paine tried out all his bowlers but wickets were hard to come by

Resuming at 313/6, South Africa would’ve liked to bat at least the morning session and stretch the score close to 400. Things went South Africa’s way in the first session as Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma frustrated the Aussie bowlers with some good, solid batting.

They started slowly as they kept out the good deliveries and batted patiently. They rotated the strike well and then when the opportunity arised, they pounced on the loose deliveries. They shared a crucial 85-run stand which propelled South Africa to the 400-run mark.

Australia’s bowlers tried hard. They bowled well but couldn’t break through. The pacers beat the bat on multiple occasions but couldn’t find the edge. Eventually, it was Nathan Lyon once who broke the dangerous partnership as he dismissed de Kock for 39.