South Africa Beat Australia 2-1 to Win Test Series and Become Number One in ICC Test Rankings

South Africa have won the three-match Test series against Australia 2-1 after beating the visitors by 176 runs at Newlands on Saturday, October 31. The win also made Temba Bavuma's side the number one team in the ICC Men's Test rankings. All-rounder Marco Jansen was named Player of the Series.

The series did not begin well for South Africa. Australia won the opening Test, and the hosts were 1-0 down. South Africa then hit back in the second Test at St George's Park in Gqeberha. Bavuma scored a captain's century there, and Australia were bowled out for 99 in their second innings. That levelled the series and set up the decider in Cape Town.

All three Tests produced a result on the fifth day. In the decider, Australia took a 100-run lead on the first innings after scoring 429 to South Africa's 329. South Africa came back with 387 in the second innings, led by centuries from Wiaan Mulder (115) and Ryan Rickelton (101). Simon Harmer then took 6 for 16 as Australia were bowled out for 111 chasing 288.

Jansen was the Player of the Series for his work with bat and ball. He scored 146 runs and took 10 wickets over the three Tests. Harmer was the Player of the Match in the third Test, with match figures of 10 for 120. Kagiso Rabada also reached 350 Test wickets in the match.

This was the first Test series between the two teams in South Africa since the ball-tampering scandal of 2018. South Africa's 2-1 win in 2026 follows their series wins in 2012, 2016 and 2018. Australia won the 2014 series 2-1 and the 2022 series 2-0, with one match drawn. Australia have not won a Test series in South Africa since 2014.

It was a rare setback for Australia. They have now lost a three-match Test series after winning the first game for only the fourth time in their history. They also lost back-to-back Tests for the first time since the opening two games of the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Short-pitched bowling was a theme of the series. Australia lost nine wickets to short balls from pace bowlers at an average of 37.9. South Africa lost 17 wickets to the same type of delivery, at an average of 26.8.

With this result, South Africa take the top spot in the Test rankings from Australia.