Riding on centuries by JP Duminy and Dean Elgar, and a great fast-bowling display by Kagiso Rabada , South Africa humiliated Australia on their home turf as they defeated the hosts by 177 runs at WACA, Perth. South Africa lead the series 1-0.
It was Vernon Philander in the first innings who took 4 wickets to derail Australian batting. Rabada bowled splendidly to trouble the Australians all through their shaky run-chase in their second innings. He scalped 5 Kangaroo wickets to help his team register a huge win.
Australia were chasing a mammoth target of 538 runs. They were bowled out for 361 runs.
Earlier, South Africa scored 540 runs in the second innings. Dean Elgar scored 127 runs. JP Duminy scored 141 runs. Their lower order clicked when it mattered. Quinton de Kock scored 64 runs. Philander made a huge contribution with the bat as he scored 73 runs. Keshav Maharaj also scored 41 runs, virtually throwing Australia out of the game.
Rabada was impressive in the first innings. But in the second innings Rabada came all guns blazing as the Australians appeared in real discomfort handling the pace and movement of the young bowler. Rabada dismissed Shaun Marsh, Steven Smith and Adam Voges to scuttle Australia’s run-chase. He took two more wickets to deal the death blow. He was well supported by Philander, Maharaj, JP Duminy and Temba Bavuma as they took one wicket each. Bavuma also got David Warner run-out.
For Australia, Usman Khwaja scored 97 runs. Peter Nevill also scored 60 runs. However, their efforts were not enough as no Australian batsman could stay put and build partnership.
Apart from scoring runs, Philander had taken 4 wickets in the first innings to stop Australia at 244 runs. This was after South Africa scored 242 runs in the first innings.
Australians are being completely outplayed by South Africa in the tour. The visitors first handed a 5-0 drubbing to Australia in ODIs, and now a comprehensive win in the first Test match. Australia will have to pull a miracle to stop the Proteas.
