Australia closed day two of the series-deciding third Test against South Africa at Newlands on 330 for 4, one run ahead of South Africa's first-innings 329, after Josh Inglis and Alex Carey added an unbroken 145 for the fifth wicket through the final session.
Matt Renshaw (74) and Cameron Green (65) had repaired an early wobble with a 126-run third-wicket partnership earlier in the day, but Marco Jansen removed Green to leave Australia on 185 for 4, giving South Africa a route back into the innings before the new pair settled in.
Inglis, drafted into the XI after Steve Smith was ruled out with the neck injury that had already troubled him in the second Test, finished the day unbeaten on 85 off 111 balls, a knock that included a six over midwicket off Simon Harmer. It is the biggest innings of his short run in the side since he came in for Smith at Newlands.
Alex Carey made an unbeaten 51 at the other end, with the pair keeping South Africa wicketless through the final session and negotiating ten overs with the second new ball before the close. The stand has turned a contest that looked evenly poised at tea into one where Australia go into day three with bat in hand and a narrow lead already banked.
South Africa's first innings, built on contributions of 95 from Marques Ackerman and 78 from Aiden Markram, had set the platform Australia needed to match. With the series level at 1-1 after wins apiece in Durban and Gqeberha, a one-run lead with six wickets still in hand leaves Australia the side with the clearer road into day three, though South Africa's bowlers — with Jansen and Harmer already two wickets apiece — have shown they can strike in clusters.
With three days left and the lead only just in Australia's favour, the overnight pair will want to push well clear of parity before the tail is exposed, giving their bowlers two full days to force a result rather than settle for a first-innings edge. For South Africa, early wickets with the second new ball on the third morning are the quickest way back into a match that has swung twice already in two days.
Inglis and Carey's stand makes both recognisable value picks for as long as their partnership continues into day three, while Jansen's wicket-taking in the middle overs keeps him the standout bowling option from South Africa's attack for the remainder of the Test.
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Scores and partnership details in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked reporting as of October 29, 2026; day three's play had not yet begun at the time of writing.
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