Rabada and Harmer rout Australia at Newlands as South Africa take series 2-1

Australia needed 288 to win. Their chase fell apart almost immediately. In the first over, Kagiso Rabada had Matt Renshaw strangled and trapped Marnus Labuschagne lbw without a shot offered. In the seventh over Rabada drew an expansive drive from Travis Head, the edge flew to gully and Marco Jansen held the catch, leaving Australia 22/3.

Head's wicket was a landmark for Rabada: his 350th in Test cricket, reached with his 13,808th delivery. No bowler has got there in fewer balls. Dale Steyn, next on that list, needed 911 more deliveries to reach the same mark.

Australia's slide continued through the morning. Cameron Green was run out, and Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly and Mitchell Starc fell in the final 37 balls before lunch, which Australia reached at 60/7. The last three of those went to off-spinner Simon Harmer, who found sharp turn and took them in 29 deliveries without conceding a run.

The tourists contributed to their own paralysis. Green's partnerships were slow, with many runs turned down, and the approach became even more defensive once captain Pat Cummins arrived. Rabada has dismissed Cummins seven times in 10 Tests, so Australia tried to keep him away from the strike. Green and Cummins had crawled to two runs from 73 balls when South Africa captain Temba Bavuma switched Harmer, who had bowled all 13 of his overs from the Wynberg End, to the Kelvin Grove End. Green charged the first ball and was bowled through the gate, leaving Australia 62/8 within an hour of the interval.

Cummins and Nathan Lyon then dug in, adding 45 from 104 balls as tea approached. Harmer broke the stand when Cummins played for turn that never came and was struck on the back thigh, given out leg-before. Tea was held back, and 10 deliveries later, six of them bowled by Aiden Markram, Harmer beat Josh Hazlewood's bat and hit the top of off stump to end the match.

Harmer's 6/16 was a career best and, with his 4/104 in the first innings, gave him his first 10-wicket match haul in Tests.

The result capped a series between two closely matched sides. Australia had won at Kingsmead by 214 runs before South Africa levelled with victory by an innings and 31 runs at St George's Park.

A crowd of 9,729 rose to applaud the hosts. As the South African players walked a lap of honour, one young fan in the stands wore a cardboard mask of Bavuma's face, a warmer scene than in 2018, when some South Africa supporters wore masks bearing the face of Candice Warner, wife of David Warner, in an attempt to provoke the Australian batter. Celebrations were marred when a boy of about 10 ran onto the field, took a stump and was removed by security staff who handled him roughly.