Ryan Rickelton's 101 and Wiaan Mulder's 115 powered South Africa from their overnight 140 for 4 to 387 all out in their second innings, setting Australia a target of 288 to win the series-deciding third Test at Newlands on the final day.
Rickelton and Mulder added 154 runs for the sixth wicket, with Rickelton facing 219 balls and Mulder 221, grinding out the lion's share of day four after South Africa resumed just 40 runs ahead. The partnership turned a modest overnight buffer into a total that gives South Africa's bowlers something substantial to defend, after Australia's first-innings 429 had put them 100 runs behind on first innings.
Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins shared the bulk of the wickets in South Africa's second innings, with Starc finishing the innings on three wickets and Cummins on two, but neither could find the breakthrough that would have limited the hosts to a target well short of 288. Starc's overall workload across the match now sits among the heaviest of the series for either attack.
The series stands at 1-1 after South Africa and Australia traded wins in Durban and Gqeberha, and the Newlands Test has swung repeatedly across four days — from South Africa's first-innings 329, to Australia's century-powered 429, and now to a target-setting 387 built almost entirely around the Rickelton-Mulder stand. A chase of 288 is a stiff ask on the final day of any Test, leaving both results — an Australian win or a South African series triumph — squarely in play.
South Africa's bowlers need early wickets on a pitch that has generally favored the bat across the match, while Australia's top order — anchored by the same batting depth that produced 429 in the first innings — will back itself to chase down a target that, while steep, is not outside the realm of what this line-up has shown it can do. Either outcome decides the series outright, with no dead-rubber cushion left for either side.
Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder's centuries make them the standout South African picks from this innings, while Mitchell Starc's wicket-taking across both South African innings keeps him the clearest value bowling option from either attack heading into the decisive final day.
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Scores and bowling figures in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting as of October 31, 2026; the final day's chase had not yet concluded at the time of writing.
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