South Africa secured an emphatic win over Australia to level their three-Test series with one to play.
The Proteas won by an innings and 31 runs at St George’s Park in Gqeberha to set up a crucial series in Cape Town next week.
Australia had won the first Test in Durban by a huge margin, only for South Africa to come roaring back and answer them in kind.
Despite a quiet morning session and without a front-runner in Anrich Nortje, South Africa bowled out Australia for 295 in their second innings an hour after tea.
The result leveled the series at 1-1 and the top two in the World Test Championship will play for the series win in Cape Town from Tuesday. live on Sky Sports.
WTC holders South Africa rallied to seemingly salvage a draw as they wrapped up their rain-affected first innings late on day three behind captain Temba Bavuma’s 179 and Marco Jansen’s brisk 85.
But Australia were then bowled out for 99 in their first innings with Jansen’s 5-33. They were forced to go on, and lost a staggering 13 wickets in total on Wednesday. South Africa’s pace attack lost Nortje to a suspected groin injury in his fourth over and he did not bowl for the rest of Australia’s second innings.
Australia, resuming the final day on 156-4, still 170 runs behind, had hoped on Thursday for a reduced 81-over back-to-back action with Steve Smith and Alex Carey in reserve, but it unraveled after its skipper Travis Head was dismissed.
Wiaan Mulder bounced back from a wicketless and expensive second innings on Wednesday by taking three of the six wickets required for South Africa on the fifth and final day.
Mulder dropped the head of the century maker, fellow night fighter Scott Boland as well as Australia captain Pat Cummins.
South Africa’s Wiaan Mulder, center, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Australia’s Scott Boland
Head, on 87 overnight, posted his 13th Test century with his 12th boundary. But his naturally positive aim unseated him on 121 when he was split against Mulder. Head faced 190 balls.
Smith finished 7th, three places lower than usual after suffering a neck cramp in the early stages. Mulder tested Smith’s neck with a first-ball jumper.
Smith lasted the last five overs of the old ball but was out for three in the third over of the new ball when he mis-hit pacer Kagiso Rabada. The ball caught the wind and Matthew Breetzke hit the ball to midwicket but got it at the second attempt.
Boland surpassed his previous Test highest score of 21 when he reached tea on 40 with Alex Carey.
But Boland was the seventh Australian to go off immediately after the restart when he tried to shield a defender from Mulder and was beaten between the posts. Boland’s stand lasted 166 balls to score 40.
Cummins departed quickly, also to Mulder, after hitting a boundary, then Rabada turned and took out Mitchell Starc’s leg stump with an inside edge.
Jansen wrapped up the victory amid gloomy skies when he got Josh Hazlewood to send a thick edge to Aiden Markram at second slip.
Rabada took 4-77, Mulder 3-64, while Jansen finished with six wickets in the match to round off an impressive display from the hosts.
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