South Africa vs Australia 3rd Test 2026: South Africa Win by 176 Runs
South Africa beat Australia by 176 runs at Newlands on Saturday, bowling the tourists out for 111 on the fifth morning of a match they had led by 100 runs on first innings. The win took the three-Test series 2-1.
Simon Harmer took 6 for 16 in the fourth innings and 10 for 120 in the match — his first ten-wicket haul in Test cricket — and was named Player of the Match. Kagiso Rabada removed three of Australia’s top four before lunch. Australia were 42 for 6 before midday, chasing 288.
The result ended Australia’s hold on top spot in the ICC Test team rankings, which they had occupied for more than two and a half years, and settled a series that had gone into its final match level at 1-1.
South Africa vs Australia 3rd Test – Match Summary
| Match | South Africa vs Australia, 3rd Test |
|---|---|
| Series | Australia tour of South Africa, 2026 |
| Venue | Newlands, Cape Town |
| Dates | 27–31 October 2026 (finished on day five) |
| Toss | Australia won and chose to bowl |
| South Africa – 1st innings | 329 all out |
| Australia – 1st innings | 429 all out |
| South Africa – 2nd innings | 387 all out |
| Australia – 2nd innings | 111 all out |
| Target | 288 |
| Result | South Africa won by 176 runs |
| Player of the Match | Simon Harmer (4/104 and 6/16) |
| Player of the Series | Marco Jansen (198 runs, 13 wickets) |
| Series result | South Africa won 2-1 |
First Innings – Australia Take the Lead
Australia won the toss and bowled, and for two days the decision looked right. South Africa were dismissed for 329, with Marques Ackerman stumped for 95 — five short of a century he had batted most of a day for — and Aiden Markram making 78. Marco Jansen’s 52 and Ryan Rickelton’s 42 filled in the rest. Mitchell Starc took six wickets.
Australia’s reply was built on one stand. Josh Inglis made 102, his second Test century, and Alex Carey 80, the pair adding about 150 for the fifth wicket after Australia had been pegged back earlier in the innings. That partnership is the whole reason Australia reached 429 and led by exactly 100.
A hundred-run lead at Newlands, with two days gone, usually settles a Test. It did not settle this one, and the reason is what South Africa did next.
South Africa’s Second Innings – A Fightback With the Bat
South Africa batted a second time 100 behind and made 387, which is the single most important number in the match.
The innings turned on a stand of 150 between Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder. Rickelton made 101 before being run out — the dismissal that ended the partnership — and Mulder went on to 115. Between them they took South Africa from a deficit into a position of control, and they did it on a pitch that was already in its third and fourth days.
The lead when South Africa were finally bowled out was 287, which set Australia 288. On a fifth-day Newlands surface against a quality off-spinner, that is a different proposition from the same target on day two. South Africa had not just erased the deficit; they had moved the match into the only phase in which their attack was likely to be decisive.
Simon Harmer and Kagiso Rabada Lead South Africa’s Bowling Attack
Australia’s chase lasted barely a session and a half.
Kagiso Rabada struck twice in one over and finished the morning with 3 for 14, removing Matt Renshaw caught down the leg side, Marnus Labuschagne lbw and Travis Head caught at gully by Jansen. He ended with 3 for 39. Josh Inglis was then run out for 4, and Australia were four down with the innings barely begun.
From there it was Harmer, who took the last six wickets of the match. Alex Carey fell to a diving Jansen catch at backward point, Cooper Connolly went second ball, and Mitchell Starc was caught at short leg off the final delivery before lunch for a 25-ball duck. Pat Cummins was lbw after the interval.
At lunch Harmer had 3 for 5 from eight overs and Australia were 60 for 7. His final figures of 6 for 16 from 21.1 overs gave him 10 for 120 in the match — a maiden ten-wicket haul, in his home conditions, in a decider.
Australia’s resistance amounted to Cameron Green’s 27 from 110 balls and Nathan Lyon’s unbeaten 33. Nobody else passed 15. There is a particular irony in Lyon top-scoring in an innings decided by the opposition’s off-spinner.
Australia vs South Africa – Key Turning Points
- The Inglis–Carey stand in Australia’s first innings. Roughly 150 for the fifth wicket, and the reason Australia led by 100 rather than trailing.
- Rickelton and Mulder’s 150. South Africa were behind and in trouble; this partnership converted a deficit into a lead of 287.
- Rabada’s double strike in a single over on the fifth morning, which removed any prospect of Australia batting out the day for a draw.
- Starc’s dismissal off the last ball before lunch. Australia went to the interval 60 for 7 instead of 60 for 6 with a settled pair — the difference between a session of resistance and a formality.
- Harmer’s post-lunch spell. He took the last six wickets to fall and finished with 6 for 16.
Top Performers of the Third Test
| Player | Team | Performance | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Harmer | South Africa | 4/104 and 6/16 — 10/120 | Player of the Match; maiden Test ten-for |
| Wiaan Mulder | South Africa | 115 in the second innings | Turned the deficit into a lead |
| Ryan Rickelton | South Africa | 101 in the second innings | 150-run stand with Mulder |
| Kagiso Rabada | South Africa | 3/39 in the chase | Three of the top four before lunch |
| Josh Inglis | Australia | 102 in the first innings | Second Test century; built the lead |
| Marques Ackerman | South Africa | 95 in the first innings | Top score of South Africa’s first innings |
| Alex Carey | Australia | 80 in the first innings | Partner in the decisive fifth-wicket stand |
| Nathan Lyon | Australia | 33 not out in the second innings | Australia’s highest score in the chase |
What the Result Means for the Test Series
South Africa won the series 2-1. Australia took the first Test; South Africa replied in the second and then won the decider at Newlands.
Two separate tables moved, and they are worth keeping apart because they measure different things.
In the ICC Test team rankings, South Africa went to number one on 124 rating points, with Australia second on 122. Australia had held top spot for more than two and a half years.
In the World Test Championship standings for the 2025-27 cycle, the result pushed New Zealand to the top on 72.22 per cent, with South Africa second on 71.43 and Australia dropping to third on 69.23. The WTC table measures points won as a percentage of points available in the current cycle; the rankings are a longer-running ratings system. South Africa are top of one and second in the other, and both statements are correct.
For Australia the concern is narrower than the scoreline suggests. They batted well enough to lead by 100 and then produced a fourth-innings total of 111 against spin. Marco Jansen’s Player of the Series award — 198 runs and 13 wickets across three Tests — is a fair summary of where the difference lay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the South Africa vs Australia 3rd Test in 2026?
South Africa won by 176 runs at Newlands, Cape Town, finishing the match on the fifth day, 31 October 2026.
By how many runs did South Africa beat Australia?
By 176 runs. Australia were set 288 and were bowled out for 111.
What were the scores in the third Test between South Africa and Australia?
South Africa made 329 and 387; Australia made 429 and 111. Australia led by 100 after the first innings.
How many wickets did Simon Harmer take in Australia’s second innings?
Six, for 16 runs from 21.1 overs — the last six wickets of the innings. His match figures were 10 for 120, a maiden Test ten-wicket haul.
Who scored a century for South Africa in the second innings?
Both Wiaan Mulder, with 115, and Ryan Rickelton, with 101. They added 150 together before Rickelton was run out.
Who was the Player of the Match in the third Test?
Simon Harmer, for 4 for 104 in the first innings and 6 for 16 in the second.
Who won the 2026 Test series between South Africa and Australia?
South Africa, 2-1. Marco Jansen was named Player of the Series with 198 runs and 13 wickets.
Conclusion
South Africa were a hundred behind after two innings of this match and won it by 176 runs. Rickelton and Mulder made that possible with the bat; Harmer and Rabada made it certain with the ball.
The ten-wicket haul will be what Harmer is remembered for here, and it deserves to be — 6 for 16 in a fourth innings, taking the last six wickets of a series decider, is as complete a bowling performance as a spinner can produce at home. But the match was won before he bowled a ball on the fifth morning, in the two days when South Africa refused to let a hundred-run deficit become a lost Test.
