Series level at one apiece as South Africa and Australia meet in Cape Town

The third and final Test between South Africa and Australia starts today at Newlands in Cape Town, with the series tied 1-1. Whoever wins this match takes the series.

A Test is a five-day contest in which each side bats twice, or gets two innings, and the team with more runs at the end wins. Each side's innings ends when ten batters are out, which is called being all out. The match is scheduled to run until 31 October.

Australia won the first Test in Durban. On day one there, South Africa took six wickets for 124 runs. Matthew Renshaw and Pat Cummins then rebuilt Australia's innings to 187-6, as The Guardian reported from that opening day. Renshaw, nicknamed 'The Turtle', was a major contributor to that win.

South Africa levelled the series in Gqeberha. Australia were all out for 99 in their first innings of that match, and the home side won the Test. Temba Bavuma captains South Africa in this decider.

Australia have a fitness question to answer before the start. Steve Smith injured his neck ahead of the match. The Australian team has given him a chance to prove he is fit, and he was aiming to return at Newlands. Whether he plays has not been confirmed.

Newlands also carries history for Australia. Their 2018 visit to Cape Town was a troubled one. Later that year, in March 2018, South Africa beat them by 322 runs in a third Test, according to The Guardian's 2018 report.

Play begins at 10:30am local time in Cape Town, which is 7:30pm in Sydney. Fans in India can follow from 2pm IST, the start time for daily play. Day three is set for 29 October, also at 10:30am local time.

Five days is a long time in a Test. A pitch can change as the match goes on, and a side that starts poorly can recover. With the series level, every session now matters.