Boland extends Australia's dominance on rain-hit Day 2

Even though the seamers, led by Scott Boland, led another dominant period of play for Australia, Temba Bavuma worked hard in the extended third session despite the rain in Gqeberha, which consumed the majority of Day 2.

On Day 1, only 12.2 overs were possible, and the morning after that was also damp. Six hours after the scheduled start, play finally began at 3.45 p.m. local time after a sustained period of brightness and multiple pitch inspections. Josh Hazlewood was unable to play for Australia because of illness.

When he took two-in-two on the opening day, Scott Boland was at his absolute best. Pat Cummins from the other end kept Temba Bavuma and Marques Ackerman tied up. When a loose push reached the outside edge, the 30-year-old debutant became Boland's third victim.

In contrast, Bavuma looked assured with his footwork, confidently presenting his defence and leaving deliveries that were out of his range without apparent trouble. Matthew Breetzke, batting at five for the first time in his short career, was patiently leaving deliveries until Mitchell Starc’s third delivery of the morning. Chasing a ball angled away, he fell in single digits too.

Boland continued his wobble-seam brilliance, getting one to nip back into Bavuma, then on 18, on the front-pad. However, he survived. He kept looking for the odd boundary in between his patrols, using his speed to punch them in the front and back. A bumper from Cummins that was aimed at his head was hooked for a six, a rare act of aggression. The ball had to be fetched by a steward from the adjacent road. He also kept pushing his partners for quick singles and doubles to break long stretches of silence on occasion.

With no Hazlewood around, Beau Webster assumed the duties of the fourth pacer. Bavuma had the perfect partner in Ryan Rickleton, who started the fight right away and got the job done. He did a good job of leaving deliveries but didn't get stuck, punching two fours in one Cummins over. The keeper rose to the stumps in support of Webster as the shadows got longer.

With a leg-slip in place, Cummins looked to strangle the left-hander on the leg-side. The move almost worked when Rickelton glanced one to Marnus Labuschagne at that position, but he lost sight of the ball, copping a hit on the chest.

Three balls later, a backfoot punch from Rickelton brought up the fifty of the partnership.

Even towards the end of the day, Australia’s seamers kept probing outside the off-stump. In a rare, late lapse, Rickelton edged behind with just two overs left in the day. Keeper Alex Carey surprisingly didn’t go for the catch, which was turned into a blinder by Matt Renshaw at first slip, plucked late with one hand. Rickelton hung his head back in disappointment as he walked back, another South Africa batter sucked into a fall stroke by Australia’s naggingly tight channels.

Bavuma still stayed put though, having now faced 108 deliveries for his 41.