South Africa beat Australia by an innings and 31 runs to level the series
South Africa beat Australia by an innings and 31 runs in the second Test in Gqeberha, levelling the series at 1-1. The decider starts on Tuesday in Cape Town.
An innings is one team's turn to bat. Winning by an innings and a number of runs means the side that lost batted twice and still fell short by that margin. BBC Sport reported that South Africa broke Australia's resistance in the final session on the fifth day.
The last day was not straightforward. Rain wiped out the first session, so the players had less time to finish the match. South Africa still took six wickets on the final day to close it out.
South Africa set the tone with a huge first innings. They batted until they had 425 for 9 and then declared, which means the captain closed the innings early while wickets were still standing. Temba Bavuma made 179, and Marco Jansen added 85. Reuters described Bavuma's knock as a career-best score.
Australia struggled against the new ball and then against the spin of the pitch. They were out for 99 in their first innings, and Scott Boland took 5 for 81 to lead the bowling effort. Their second innings reached 295, with Travis Head making 121. Head's innings gave Australia something to build on, but it was not enough to save the match.
Kagiso Rabada took 4 for 77 and Wiaan Mulder took 3 for 64 in Australia's second innings. Mulder removed Head, Boland and Pat Cummins, and those three wickets were a turning point. Boland did hold on for a long time, facing 166 deliveries for 40 runs. Earlier in the match, Jansen had taken 5 for 33 on the fourth day.
The win also evens a series that began with a heavy result for South Africa. Australia won the first Test in Durban by 214 runs, according to the ICC, and took a 1-0 lead into Gqeberha.
For South Africa, the result means a fresh start in the series. Australia now have to win in Cape Town to take the series, while a South African win there would give them the series. The third Test begins on Tuesday, and both sides will arrive knowing the title is still open.
