South Africa Thrash Australia by 176 Runs to Win Series 2-1 and Reclaim No. 1 Test Ranking as Rabada Reaches 350 Wickets in Record Time
South Africa thumped Australia by 176 runs at Newlands in Cape Town on October 31 to clinch their three-test series 2-1 and leapfrog Australia to the top of the test world rankings for the first time since January 2016, Reuters reported. Set a target of 288 for victory, the tourists were bowled out for 111 before tea on the final day.
Spinner Simon Harmer was the decisive figure. He took a career-best 6 for 16 in the second innings and finished with 10 for 120 in the match, his first ten-wicket haul in tests. Australia captain Pat Cummins resisted with 11 runs from 90 balls before Harmer trapped him lbw, and Harmer then bowled Josh Hazlewood to seal the win.
Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada had set the tone in the first over of the day, removing Matt Renshaw for a duck and Marnus Labuschagne for 4, before dismissing Travis Head to reach 350 test wickets. Rabada got there in 13,808 deliveries, fewer than any bowler in history, beating compatriot Dale Steyn's 14,719 and Pakistan's Waqar Younis's 14,905. He finished the innings with 3 for 39.
Brief scores: South Africa 329 and 387, Australia 429 and 111. Australia had won the first test in Durban, South Africa answered with an innings-and-31-run win in Gqeberha, and the hosts completed the comeback in Cape Town.
The victory also keeps alive South Africa's hopes of defending their World Test Championship title next year, having beaten Australia in the previous decider at Lord's in 2025.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：南非快速投球手 Kagiso Rabada 在比赛中投球（资料图）。照片：EGilham，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada in action (file photo). Photo by EGilham, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
