AUS vs SA 2016, 3rd Test: Twitter Reacts As South Africa Bounce Back With Late Wickets 1

Three wickets towards the end have left the final Test evenly poised as Australia finished the day on 307 for 6, 48 runs ahead of the visitors’ first innings total of 259. Earlier, a century from Usman Khwaja (138*) and half-centuries from Steve Smith and Peter Handscomb had given the hosts a solid platform to take command of the match but a lower order collapse gave the Proteas a chance to claw their way back into the match.

Resuming the day on 14 for no loss, Australia had a mighty scare when they lost debutant Matt Renshaw and David Warner with only 37 runs on the board. The hosts had already suffered numerous collapses in the last few Tests and another wicket would have put the new-look team under immense pressure. But Khawaja along with captain Steve Smith steadied the ship with 137 runs partnership.  The partnership was broken when a mix-up resulted in Smith’s run out.

The wicket did not derail Australia’s innings as another solid partnership between debutant Nic Maddinson and Khawaja helped Steve Smith’s men to surpass South Africa’s total. The 99- run partnership ended when Kyle Abbott dismissed Maddinson for 54. But all the good work of the top order  batsmen was undone when the home team lost three wickets in space of 24 balls.Khawaja along with Mitchell Starc,then,ensured that the hosts do not suffer another loss.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the day’s play:

https://twitter.com/FakeRainaNephew/status/802097520138518528

https://twitter.com/MCricket20/status/802116325116100608