Lyon stunner tips scales in Australia's favour

• Australia made 429
• Josh Inglis 102, Alex Carey 80
• South Africa 4/140, leading by 40 runs stumps Day 3
• Marques Ackerman 62, Temba Bavuma 35, Mitch Starc 2/29

An arm wrestle at Newlands on Day 3 of the third Test, with Australia posting a 100-run lead after Josh Inglis brought up his second Test century.

The bowlers then got to work and chipped away at the South African top order. The Proteas finished the day 4/140, leading by 40 runs, with a Nathan Lyon stunner removing Temba Bavuma with five minutes to go.

Lyon’s late strike tipped the scales in Australia’s favour.

Inglis seizes his opportunity – a sign of things to come?

The reserve batter and keeper picked up where he left off on day two, punching his way to his second Test century in the opening stages of the day.

Adam Collins called the moment: "Josh Inglis has seized his opportunity. An innings defined by fast feet, sharp hands, sound judgment, and now driving Australia into a series-winning position."

His stay didn’t last much longer, getting an edge on a low Simon Harmer ball through to Ryan Rickelton as he departed for 102, which was the same score of his debut century.

It was an important innings for Australia both in the context of the match itself and for the team’s long term quest to add batting strength and depth. There is cause for optimism after the storm clouds of Gqeberha.

Simon Katich praised the innings: “It just shows what’s next if the selectors start to back some of these players that have been waiting for opportunities. Give them an opportunity and who knows – you might be surprised.”

Australia finishes with a 100-run first innings lead

The question going into Day 3 was around how long could the overnight partnership continue given Australia had six wickets in hand. After Inglis’ departure, his partner Alex Carey was removed shortly after, giving the Proteas momentum as they got to look at the tail.

Pat Cummins and Mitch Starc departed shortly after, with South Africa taking four wickets in the opening session. Australia, however, was able to keep building the lead with Cooper Connolly playing a plucky innings holding up an end to get the lead to 100 runs before spooning one back to Wiaan Mulder as he departed for 29, ending Australia’s innings on 429.

For all their faults, South Africa conceded just 99 runs for the day to take the six remaining Australian wickets. Could the lead have been bigger? It was probably a par result for Australia in the end based on where they found themselves at stumps overnight, but certainly exceeded expectations compared to where they found themselves at lunch on day one.

South African top order falls to “soft, soft” dismissals

A huge scalp early for Australia with Aiden Markram departing for 1, spooning the ball off Starc straight to Travis Head at extra cover. He dropped Markram in the first innings off Starc in the exact same position, but he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice, take the catch on his chest like a centre half-forward to remove the South African opener.

Shortly after David Bedingham holed out for the second time in the game, with Nathan Lyon the catch. It prompted a blunt response from South African great Vernon Philander: “That is two soft, soft dismissals for South Africa.”

The lessons from the first innings still weren’t learned.

Ackerman flexes his muscle until a “monumental” moment in the game

The opener kept the scoreboard ticking over nicely as South Africa reeled in the deficit, bringing up his second half-century of the match in the process. Cruising on 62, a Starc bouncer forced his departure, but not without controversy.

The ball blazed by his bat and helmet, with umpires giving him out caught by Cam Green in the cordon, believing it had taken the bat on the way through. Ackerman debated reviewing the decision and eventually opted to, only to be timed out by the barest of margins on the 30-second countdown, and given his marching orders.

Words and stares were exchanged as Ackerman left the ground, with the timing of him making the DRS gesture reviewed to ensure he had missed the jump. “That is incredible,” Tom Morris said in the call. “He took 31 seconds when you can only take 30 seconds to send it upstairs. He is filthy with himself – one for the shot, and two for not taking the initiative to send it to the third umpire. That is a monumental moment in this game.”

Thankfully, replays showed that Ackerman had indeed hit the ball on the way through, and a review would have confirmed the decision of the umpires. “That’s a massive wicket for Australia because he’s the guy who really had the tempo and momentum for South Africa,” Philander said. With South Africa three wickets down whilst still trailing, it was advantage Australia.

Run-out opportunities

Whilst we don’t tend to treat missed run-outs with the same weight as dropped catches, Australia had two run-out chances in the second sessions that would have given them total ascendency. First, Temba Bavuma struggled to dash through for a quick single off his first ball, with Inglis having a shot at the stumps that could have seen Bavuma out for a duck.

The bigger opportunity was Ackerman, who Connolly would have had stone dead had he hit, with the South African opener stranded between the creases. Bharat Sundaresan thought it was a very gettable opportunity: “Had he just gathered himself he could have had a shot at all three stumps.”

A huge wicket right at the death from the GOAT

Bavuma and Matthew Breetzke were looking like they’d hang in until stumps and take the opportunity to reset tomorrow. Enter Lyon, who bowled Bavuma with an absolute jaffa in the last five minutes of the day to send the South African captain packing for 35.

Simon Katich couldn’t contain his excitement. “What a ball that is – that’s a beauty from Nathan Lyon. They know how big that wicket is for South Africa’s hopes. Massive.”

Gerard Whateley agreed. “Massive is right. The bounty on a wicket right at the death.” Philander was stunned. “Can you believe it? On the brink of the close of play. That is a monumental wicket for the Australians.”

It tips the scales right in Australia’s favour and sets the scene for a huge opening session on day four. “I thought it was a wonderful day of Test cricket,” Simon Katich concluded.

What sort of a total does South Africa need to set?

Philander feels the Proteas need to occupy the crease for most of Day 4, which will be difficult whilst already four down. “Probably 200 as a bare minimum. It will quicken up but it about spending at least another half to three quarters of a day out there,” he said. “Knowing the conditions and having played here, they’ll know that if they can get another 140-150 we’ll have a game on here.”

Katich still believes the South Africans can set a competitive target with Breetzke and Rickelton at the crease. “Now it’s up to the two young bucks – what a massive opportunity for them to make names for themselves. There’s still so much to play.”

SEN’s Day 4 coverage live from Newlands starts from 7pm AEDT, with first ball 7:30pm AEDT.

Image credit: Getty/AFP