Cape Town [South Africa], October 28: Mitchell Starc claimed six wickets as Australia fought back to bowl South Africa out for 329 on Day 1 of the third Test at Newlands, after the hosts made a strong start through an opening partnership of 158 runs by Aiden Markram and Marques Ackerman.
After Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to field, South Africa dominated the opening session, reaching 140 without loss at lunch. Marques Ackerman struck an unbeaten 82 off 75 balls, while Aiden Markram supported him with an unbeaten 56 off 87 balls.
Ackerman continued his aggressive approach after the break, but Nathan Lyon ended the opening partnership by stumping him for 95, denying the batter a century.
After the opening breakthrough, South Africa looked to rebuild as Markram and David Bedingham added 45 runs for the second wicket. However, Josh Hazlewood broke the partnership by dismissing Markram for 78.
South Africa slipped from 203/1 to 220/4 by tea, as Australia mounted a comeback after a challenging start.
After the break, Starc struck twice in the same over, dismissing a well-set David Bedingham (50) and Wiaan Mulder (0) to leave South Africa reeling at 232/6.
Just when Australia appeared poised to wrap up the innings quickly, Marco Jansen and Ryan Rickelton mounted a resistance, stitching together a 95-run partnership to take South Africa to 327/6 in 80.3 overs.
However, Starc struck again, removing both Rickelton (42) and Jansen (52) in the same over to reduce the hosts to 328/8.
Starc then claimed the remaining two wickets of Gerald Coetzee and Kagiso Rabada in the following over, bowling South Africa out for 329 in 82.3 overs and bringing a topsy-turvy opening day to a close.
Nathan Lyon took two wickets for 71 runs, while Josh Hazlewood and Cooper Connolly claimed one wicket each. Starc was the standout bowler for Australia, finishing with figures of 6/72 in 16.3 overs.
Scores: South Africa 329 (Ackerman 95, Markram 78, Jansen 52, Starc 6-72, Lyon 2-71) vs Australia.
Source: Qatar Tribune