Rickelton, Mulder Tons: South Africa Set Australia 288
Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder hit centuries on Friday to swing the series-deciding third Test in South Africa’s favour at Newlands, Cape Town. South Africa set Australia 288 to win on the final day, after being bowled out for 387 in their second innings in the last over of day four.
The home side resumed on 140 for four, holding a lead of only 40 runs after conceding a 100-run first-innings deficit. South Africa had made 329 in the first innings, against Australia’s 429. By the close, that fragile lead had grown to 287, which means Australia need 288 runs on Saturday to win the Test and the series.
Rickelton made 101 off 219 balls, with 12 fours, for his third Test century. Mulder made 115 off 221 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes, for his fourth Test century. Together they added 154 runs for the sixth wicket, a stand that stretched into the final session and turned the match.
How Rickelton and Mulder rebuilt the innings
Matthew Breetzke helped Rickelton absorb the early pressure on Friday morning. The pair stretched their overnight fifth-wicket stand to 50 runs before Breetzke fell to Australia captain Pat Cummins for 43 off 121 balls.
Mulder then walked out at number seven and, alongside the set Rickelton, changed the course of the day. The two batted with patience through the middle sessions, taking few risks and letting the lead grow. Only one wicket fell in the first five hours of play, and South Africa reached a position from which Australia could no longer dictate terms.
Rickelton’s innings ended in frustration in the over after he reached his century, when he was run out after a mix-up with Mulder. His dismissal sparked a lower-order collapse, and South Africa lost wickets at regular intervals from there. Mulder kept the scoreboard moving almost single-handed, and brought up his own century during the last-wicket stand with number 11 Kagiso Rabada.
Mulder was the last man out, caught at long-on off Cummins in the final over of the day. He had added 36 runs with Rabada for the last wicket, runs that may matter a great deal on a wearing Newlands pitch.
South Africa set Australia 288: the size of the chase
Mitchell Starc, who took six wickets in the first innings, led Australia’s second-innings attack with three wickets for 65 runs in 24 overs. Cummins and spinner Nathan Lyon took two wickets each, while Josh Hazlewood took one. Lyon bowled 44 overs in the innings for two wickets at a miserly economy rate, but even his control could not break the Rickelton-Mulder stand in time.
The scale of Australia’s task is clear from the record books. A target of 288 would be the second-highest successful run chase in 137 years of Test cricket at Newlands. Australia will need to bat last on a pitch showing variable bounce and sharp turn, against a South African attack led by Rabada and Marco Jansen, with Lyon’s opposite number in the spin department also in play.
The series is level at 1-1. Australia won the first Test in Durban by 214 runs, and South Africa hit back with victory by an innings and 31 runs in Gqeberha. The winners of the decider will occupy the number one spot in the Test world rankings, a place currently held by Australia. That prize, plus a series win over the world champions, gives Saturday’s final day a weight that goes beyond one match.
What Saturday holds
For South Africa, the plan is simple in outline and hard in practice: take 10 wickets before Australia reach 288. Rickelton said after play that South Africa would be pushing hard for victory on Saturday, and the extra runs Mulder added with the tail give the bowlers room to attack rather than defend.
For Australia, the chase demands the same patience Rickelton and Mulder showed. The first session will set the tone. Lose early wickets to the new ball, and the chase becomes a survival exercise. Build a platform, and the second-highest chase in Newlands history starts to look possible rather than fanciful.
