South Africa Beats Australia by an Innings and 31 Runs After Wiaan Mulder's Late Wickets

What Happened

South Africa defeated Australia by an innings and 31 runs at St George's Park on a rain-hit final day to level the Test series. Australia nearly escaped with a draw thanks to a century from Travis Head and a marathon 166-ball vigil from nightwatchman Scott Boland, who scored 40 runs. All-rounder Wiaan Mulder broke the resistance by taking three wickets in the second innings for 64 runs, removing Head, Boland, and Pat Cummins.

Match Details

South Africa had declared their first innings at 425 for 9, powered by a 179-run knock from Temba Bavuma along with useful contributions from Marco Jansen and Simon Harmer. Australia collapsed for 99 runs in their first innings, with Jansen claiming 5 wickets for 33 runs, forcing the follow-on. In the second innings, Australia scored 295 runs before being bowled out in the final session, helped by Steve Smith batting lower down due to a neck issue and Alex Carey's efforts.

Player Background

Born in Johannesburg on 19 February 1998, 28-year-old Wiaan Mulder made his ODI debut in 2017 and his Test debut in 2019. He was part of the squad that won the 2025 World Test Championship final. In 2025, he scored 367 not out as a stand-in captain against Zimbabwe, setting a new South African Test record that surpassed Hashim Amla's mark.

Context

Test cricket often produces tense final-day finishes when a team fights to bat out time for a draw. Enforcing the follow-on requires a first-innings lead of at least 200 runs, giving the bowling side two full innings to dismiss the opposition again.