Boland Takes Five Wickets as Jansen Falls Short of Century

South Africa continued batting against Australia on day three of the second Test at St George's Park in Gqeberha on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, with Marco Jansen missing out on a maiden Test century after Scott Boland dismissed him for 85. Boland emerged as Australia's leading bowler, taking his fifth wicket as Temba Bavuma advanced toward a century at the other end. Jansen's dismissal came shortly after Australia took the new ball.

The South African batter attempted a shot toward midwicket but chipped the delivery directly to Travis Head, ending an impressive innings and denying him the opportunity to reach three figures. Boland's five-wicket haul made him the standout performer among Australia's bowlers during the innings. The breakthrough arrived after South Africa's batters had largely controlled the bowling attack on a pitch that appeared to offer increasingly favorable conditions for batting.

Bavuma remained at the crease following Jansen's departure. He moved into the 90s with a single to deep point during Boland's 83rd over, continuing to build his innings as South Africa sought to extend its total.

The new ball had brought renewed activity after a relatively quiet period. Boland struck Jansen on the back thigh with a delivery that moved sharply inward, leaving the batter in considerable discomfort. Jansen recovered and resumed batting but was beaten by Boland again before his eventual dismissal.

Australia had also created several opportunities before the breakthrough. Nic Maddinson came close to dismissing Jansen when the batter advanced down the pitch and nearly missed the ball, only managing to make contact with the toe of his bat to avoid being stumped.

Jansen survived another close call when he attempted an aggressive slog against Maddinson. An inside edge sent the ball away from the stumps, allowing the South African batter to continue his innings and move closer to his maiden Test century. Beau Webster and Pat Cummins also bowled during the period before the new ball arrived. Cummins continued using short-pitched deliveries against Jansen, while the field remained spread as Australia tried to restrict the scoring.

Josh Hazlewood returned to the attack after spending an extended period out of action during the match. He bowled a controlled over, conceding two singles as Australia looked to make use of the changing conditions. Bavuma had appeared increasingly comfortable against the Australian attack, including a back-foot cut through backward point for four off Hazlewood.

He also rotated the strike with singles to maintain South Africa's progress. After Jansen's dismissal, Simon Harmer came to the crease and faced Boland before taking strike against Mitchell Starc. Starc had struggled to extract consistent assistance from the surface, although he produced a delivery that swung sharply back toward middle stump during the over.

Australia's bowlers had found few sustained opportunities while Bavuma and Jansen were together, but Boland's intervention ended the partnership's progress and gave the visitors a significant breakthrough late in the session.