DURBAN: Australia’s Matt Renshaw played a lea­d­ing role to leave his side needing six wickets on the last day of the first test to beat South Africa as the hosts were 102-4 at the close of play at Kingsmead on Monday.

Set 421 runs to win after Australia declared their second innings on 314-6, South Africa saw opener Ryan Rickelton, David Bedin­gham, captain Temba Bav­uma and Tristan Stubbs all dismissed before stumps with part time spinner Rens­haw weighing in with his first Test wicket as his dream performance continued.

Aiden Markram (45 not out) and Wiaan Mulder, unbeaten on five, will resume on the final morning, needing to lead a stoic rearguard action if the home side are to avoid defeat.

Rickelton failed to impress as he was out after three balls on Monday, scoring just two before an attempted pull shot saw him edge Josh Hazlewood’s rising delivery to wicket-keeper Alex Carey.

Bedingham was the second wicket to fall, making 46 before being trapped lbw by Hazlewood and ending a patient 66-run partnership with Markram, while Bavuma scored a single run, prodding at Renshaw’s off spin and being caught bat-pad at short leg.

Stubbs also made one, getting a thick edge to captain Pat Cummins delivery with another example of the poor shot selection that has dog­g­ed South Africa’s batting.

RED-HOT BATTING FORM

Earlier, Renshaw continued his red-hot batting form to allow his side to declare at tea, picking up where he left off in the first innings when he scored 190 of Australia’s 390 runs.

Renshaw continued to do­m­inate the bowlers, scoring 82 before a controversial caught and bowled from Keshav Maharaj ended his contribution. Australia acce­l­erated their run accumulation in a bid to give themselves time to put South Africa into bat and chase down the 10 wickets required for victory.

They resumed on 33-0 and scored 141 runs in a fast-moving first session for the loss of four wickets and a further 140 in the afternoon.

Opener Nic Maddinson, who made a duck in the first innings, played some expansive shots before Anrich Nortje clean bowled him for 48, and there were useful contributions from Beau Webster, 39 not out, and Cummins, who bludgeoned four sixes in his 12-ball 32.

Travis Heads 11 runs at the top of the inn­ings and 37 from Mar­nus Labuschagne did not help their individual causes, although Labu­schagne’s 53-run stand with Steve Smith (27) for the third wicket did accelerate the run rate and put Australia in an advantageous position.

Smith was struck on the helmet by Nortje and is being assessed under concussion protocols. He batted on after the hit but did not join the rest of the Australian team on the field at the start of South Africa’s chase.

Scoreboard

AUSTRALIA (1st Innings) 390 (M. Renshaw 190, P. Cummins 43; W. Mulder 4-68, M. Jansen 3-68)

SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings) 284 (D. Bedingham 49; P. Cummins 3-54)

AUSTRALIA (2nd Innings, overnight 33-0):

N. Maddinson b Nortje 48

T. Head c Bavuma b Jansen 11

M. Labuschagne c Bavuma b Maharaj 37

S. Smith c Jansen b Harmer 27

M. Renshaw c&b Maharaj 82

A. Carey b Nortje 24

B. Webster not out 39

P. Cummins not out 32

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-8, W-2) 14

TOTAL (for six wkts, 58 overs decl) 314

DID NOT BAT: M. Starc, N. Lyon, J. Hazlewood

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-43 (Head), 2-72 (Maddinson), 3-125 (Smith), 4-157 (Labuschagne), 5-205 (Carey), 6-270 (Renshaw)

BOWLING: Jansen 8-0-45-1, Mulder 4-0-24-0, Harmer 25-1-121-1, Nortje 12-1-56-2 (2w), Maharaj 9-0-56-2

SOUTH AFRICA (2nd Innings):

R. Rickelton c Carey b Hazlewood 2

A. Markram not out 45

D. Bedingham lbw b Hazlewood 46

T. Bavuma c Maddinson b Renshaw 1

T. Stubbs c Carey b Cummins 1

W. Mulder not out 5

EXTRAS (NB-2) 2

TOTAL (for four wkts, 41 overs) 102

STILL TO BAT: K. Verreynne, M. Jansen, S. Harmer, K. Maharaj, A. Nortje

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-7 (Rickelton), 2-73 (Bedingham), 3-82 (Bavuma), 4-86 (Stubbs)

BOWLING: Starc 7-1-19-0, Hazlewood 8-3-20-2, Cummins 9-3-27-1 (2nb), Lyon 10-1-20-0, Renshaw 7-1-16-1

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2026