South Africa reached 205 for 3 after 47.3 overs on day one of the series-deciding third Test against Australia at Newlands, after Marques Ackerman and Aiden Markram put on an opening stand worth 158 before both fell in the afternoon session, having given the hosts a flying start once Pat Cummins won the toss and chose to field first.
South Africa raced to 140 without loss at lunch, with Ackerman unbeaten on 82 and Markram on 56 at the interval. Ackerman fell agonisingly short of what would have been a maiden Test century, stumped off Nathan Lyon for 95 off 94 balls as the total reached 158 for 1. Markram followed for 78 off 141 balls, caught by Mitchell Starc off Josh Hazlewood with the score on 203 for 2, having survived a dropped chance off Starc's bowling earlier in his innings.
Ackerman's 95 is already the highest score of a Test career that is only three matches old. He made his debut in the second Test at Gqeberha after Tony de Zorzi was ruled out through injury, and has partnered Markram at the top of the order ever since. Captain Temba Bavuma has publicly backed Ackerman to make the opening role his own, and an innings three runs from a century on a series-deciding occasion makes a strong case for that trust, even without the milestone itself.
David Bedingham, unbeaten on 28, and Matthew Breetzke, unbeaten on 1, were at the crease as South Africa looked to build on the platform their openers had laid. Lyon was the pick of Australia's bowlers at that point with 2 for 50, the breakthroughs arriving only after the tourists had been made to work hard through the first two hours.
The series is level at 1-1 heading into this match, with South Africa's innings-and-31-run win at Gqeberha squaring the ledger after Australia's win in the series opener at Durban. Cummins's decision to bowl first looked costly through the opening session, though Newlands pitches have historically offered bowlers more as a Test wears into its later days, giving Australia a route back into the contest if they can build on their two wickets.
Ackerman and Markram's opening stand is the clearest value signal from day one, with the uncapped Ackerman's emerging role as a genuine top-order accumulator worth tracking for the rest of the series. Lyon's two wickets after an expensive new-ball spell from the seamers also mark him as the bowler most likely to keep troubling South Africa's middle order on a surface still offering turn.
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Scores and dismissal details in this article are verified against same-day and freshly re-checked sources as of October 27, 2026; play was still in progress at the time of writing, and South Africa's final first-innings total was not yet known.
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