Cape Town, Oct 31 — Simon Harmer produced a match-winning six-wicket haul while Kagiso Rabada claimed three scalps as South Africa bowled out Australia for a mere 111 runs in their second innings to register a memorable 176-run victory in the third and final Test of the series at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.
With this win, South Africa clinched the three-match series 2-1 and reclaimed the number one position in the ICC Test team rankings from Australia.
Chasing a challenging target of 288 to win the series decider, Australia were expected to put up a strong fight, especially after the pitch offered relatively favourable batting conditions on the fourth day. However, the visitors' batting line-up collapsed under pressure as Rabada and Harmer dismantled their resistance.
Australia resumed on the final day, hoping to chase down the target or survive the remaining 90 overs to secure a draw. However, Rabada struck early blows to leave the visitors struggling at 60/7 at lunch, effectively putting South Africa in complete control of the contest.
Rabada set the tone with a devastating opening spell, claiming three wickets for just 14 runs in five overs. He first dismissed Matthew Renshaw for a golden duck before trapping Marnus Labuschagne lbw for two. The pacer then removed Travis Head for 16, completing his 350 Test wickets in the process.
Josh Inglis, who had scored a century in Australia's first innings, was run out for four following a misunderstanding with Cameron Green, adding to the visitors' troubles.
Harmer then took charge of the proceedings, dismissing Alex Carey for 6 after the Australian wicketkeeper attempted an ill-judged reverse sweep. The spinner followed it up by removing Beau Webster for a duck, caught behind, as Australia continued to lose wickets.
Green and Nathan Lyon attempted to delay the inevitable with a fighting partnership after the visitors had lost seven wickets in the first session. However, Harmer eventually broke their resistance by bowling Green for 27 off 110 deliveries.
Australia captain Pat Cummins tried to extend the contest alongside Lyon, but Harmer ended his stay by trapping him lbw for 10 in the 54th over. The off-spinner then completed the victory in his next over by bowling Josh Hazlewood for a duck.
Harmer returned impressive figures of 6-16 in 21.1 overs, while Rabada finished with three wickets as South Africa completed a comprehensive victory.
Earlier, South Africa's remarkable recovery with the bat had laid the foundation for their victory. Resuming the fourth day at 140/4, the hosts rode on centuries from Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder to post 387 in their second innings and set Australia a target of 288 runs.
Rickelton scored 101 off 219 deliveries, while Mulder made 115 off 221 balls. The duo shared a crucial 154-run partnership for the sixth wicket to revive South Africa's innings after Australia had gained a 100-run first-innings advantage.
South Africa had scored 329 in their first innings, while Australia responded with 429 to take a significant lead. However, the hosts turned the contest around with their second-innings batting effort before their bowlers finished the job on the final day.
Australia had won the opening Test in Durban by 214 runs, while South Africa bounced back with an innings and 31-run victory in the second match at Gqeberha. The hosts then produced a commanding performance in Cape Town to win the decider and take the series 2-1.
Brief scores:
South Africa 329 & 387 all out in 134.4 overs (Wiaan Mulder 115, Ryan Rickelton 101; Mitchell Starc 3-65, Pat Cummins 2-71) beat Australia 429 & 111 all out in 57.1 overs (Nathan Lyon 33*, Cameron Green 27; Simon Harmer 6-16, Kagiso Rabada 3-39) by 176 runs.