An exciting day of cricket unfolded on the opening day of the third and final Test between the Proteas and Australia in Cape Town.

South Africa had a brilliant start with the bat, but the Aussies turned the tide with the ball, courtesy of Mitchell Starc’s brilliance in claiming his 20th career Test five-wicket haul.

After Australia elected to field, Proteas openers, Aiden Markram and Marques Ackerman, put the visitors’ bowlers under pressure, showing composure and patience to build a formidable opening partnership.

The pair went through to lunch without losing a wicket, putting on 140 runs in the opening session of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 series finale.

Their partnership reached 158 runs before Ackerman was caught short of his crease while attempting to step out. Alex Carey’s quick glovework resulted in a stumping, cutting short Ackerman’s maiden Test century just five runs short of the milestone.

Markram continued to score freely and looked settled alongside, David Bedingham, but his innings ended on 78 when Mitchell Starc took a well-judged catch off Josh Hazlewood’s bowling.

Captain Temba Bavuma was the next to depart, falling to Nathan Lyon’s magic, when the spinner’s beautifully flighted delivery drifted away from the right-hander to castle him.

Matthew Breetzke also failed to make an impact, falling leg-before-wicket to Cooper Connolly for just two runs.

The Proteas went into tea at 221/4. After the interval, Bedingham (50) and Wiaan Mulder (0) were among the first wickets to fall, while Ryan Rickelton held firm at the other end.

Rickelton contributed a valuable 42, while Marco Jansen once again proved useful with the bat, scoring 52 for another half-century.

Starc was Australia’s standout bowler, finishing with figures of 6/72 as the visitors fought back to dismiss the Proteas for 329 on day one.

Stumps, Day 1! 🏟️

A flurry of wickets brings the day’s play to a close as #TheProteas are bowled out for 329 after 82.3 overs. 🇿🇦

We return tomorrow for Day 2, with play set to begin at 10:30am as Australia will come out to begin their first innings. 🏏

#Unbreakable #SAvAUS https://t.co/2BgCEZ56FJ

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 27, 2026