Temba Bavuma hit his highest Test score to put South Africa firmly in control on day three of the second Test against Australia in Gqeberha.
The Proteas skipper notched his fifth Test ton- and first against Australia- as the hosts recovered from a perilous position of 110/6 to reach 425/9 declared.
Reminiscent of Australia’s revival in the first Test, courtesy of Matt Renshaw, this time it was Bavuma’s mammoth innings of 179 (334) that propelled his side into pole position.
Nonetheless, Bavuma was not alone having been ably supported by the strength of South Africa’s lower order.
A brilliant 132-run stand for the seventh wicket between the captain and towering counterpart Marco Jansen put the pressure firmly back onto the visiting bowlers, only for Jansen to perish for 85 almost immediately after the new ball was taken.
The ever-impressive Scott Boland (5/81) was able to remove Jansen 15 short of a landmark first professional ton, registering his third Test fifer when Travis Head took a smart catch at short mid-wicket.
Pat Cummins’ side will have smelt blood as Simon Harmer walked to the crease facing a brand new ball, however yet another substantial partnership built on the Proteas’ growing confidence.
Essex off-spinner Harmer went well past his previous highest Test score of 47 to reach 82, hitting 11 boundaries in a record-breaking eighth wicket stand of 183.
His vigil was surprisingly ended by Marnus Labuschagne as a leg-break cannoned into off-stump, with Harmer looking to accelerate on the sweep, before Bavuma’s feathered edge off Mitchell Starc a ball later brought an end to his and the team’s innings.
The tourists will feel aggrieved to have spent much of the day without Durban match winner Josh Hazlewood, whose mysterious illness meant he bowled only 14 overs across the whole innings.
One would imagine that the Aussie’s missed Hazlewood’s metronomic accuracy as Bavuma and co compiled runs at a consistent tempo.
Skipper Pat Cummins, who remained wicketless with figures of 0-96, was forced into rotating his bowlers more frequently to plug the gap.
As for his counterpart Bavuma, it was another historic day in a rather understated Test career.
The 36-year-old has now struck five centuries against five different opponents, the perfect response to his first defeat as Test skipper at Kingsmead last week.
Even more impressively, the diminutive batter has now scored over 2000 runs at an average of 49 in 27 Tests since the start of 2021.
Following their declaration in a largely rain-affected match thus far, there was still time for the hosts to make early inroads.
The returning Kagiso Rabada struck with only his fourth ball, removing opener Nic Maddinson for a duck after Harmer held onto a comfortable catch in the slips.
Maddinson, 34, now has two ducks in three innings on his own return to the Test arena, sandwiched either side of a quick-fire 48.
Australia reached the close 3/1 with Travis Head and nightwatchman Boland unbeaten, knowing a few significant partnerships will likely secure a draw.
That being said, the Proteas enter day four sensing that a few more breakthroughs can will send jitters through the Aussie camp.
South Africa must triumph in Gqeberha to go in the third Test in Cape Town with a chance of securing a series victory.
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