South Africa vs Australia 1st Test 2026 Day 5: Live Updates, Scores, Highlights from Durban

• Venue: Kingsmead, Durban
• Captains: Temba Bavuma (South Africa), Pat Cummins (Australia)
• Toss: Australia won the toss and elected to bat first
• Live Broadcast: SuperSport Cricket and SABC 3 (South Africa), Fox Sports and Kayo Sports (Australia), Fancode (India)
• Officials: Chris Gaffaney & Richard Kettleborough (on-field umpires), Richard Illingworth (third umpire), Stephen Harris (reserve umpire), Javagal Srinath (match referee)
• Result: To be decided
• Player of the Match: To be decided

Day 5 Live Score and Key Moments

Welcome to our live coverage of the final day of the first Test between South Africa and Australia at Kingsmead. Early on, Josh Hazlewood struck in the second over, removing Ryan Rickelton for a duck by catching an edge behind the stumps off Beau Webster. South Africa fought back with aggressive batting from David Bedingham and Aiden Markram, who combined for an 84-run partnership before Australian bowlers tightened their lengths, slowing scoring opportunities.

Mitchell Starc ended Markram’s innings, while Nathan Lyon induced an outside edge from South African captain Temba Bavuma, dismissing him for 3 runs. At stumps on Day 4, South Africa stood at 102/4, trailing by 319 runs with six wickets remaining. Despite chasing 421 for victory, the Proteas lost early wickets including Ryan Rickelton (12) and David Bedingham (46).

Session Summaries

• End of Third Session (Day 4): South Africa 102/4, trailing by 319 runs.
• End of Second Session (Day 4): Australia declared their second innings at 314/6, setting South Africa a target of 421.
• End of First Session (Day 4): Australia reached 174/4 at lunch, with Nic Maddinson hitting a quick 48 before being dismissed by Anrich Nortje.
• Stumps Day 3: Australia 33/0 in their second innings after bowling South Africa out for 284, securing a 106-run lead.
• Tea Day 2: South Africa 238/8 battling under pressure from Australia's bowlers.
• Lunch Day 2: Australia at 277/8, led by Matt Renshaw's commanding century.
• Stumps Day 1: Australia 187/6 with play called off early due to bad light.

Key Performances

• Matt Renshaw: Scored a marathon 190 runs off 397 balls, anchoring Australia’s innings.
• Josh Hazlewood: Important early wickets, including Ryan Rickelton and David Bedingham.
• Pat Cummins: Led the bowling attack with disciplined spells and contributed a quick cameo of 32* off 12 balls.
• Mitchell Starc: Took key wickets including Aiden Markram.
• Anrich Nortje: Returned to the South African side after three years, bowled with pace and aggression.

Teams and Lineups

• South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj, Anrich Nortje
• Australia XI: Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

Series Schedule

• 1st Test: October 9-13, Kingsmead, Durban at 1:00 p.m. IST
• 2nd Test: October 18-22, St George's Park, Gqeberha at 1:00 p.m. IST
• 3rd Test: October 27-31, Newlands, Cape Town at 1:00 p.m. IST

Win Probability

• Australia: 37%
• South Africa: 63%

Additional Notes

Australia fielded a unique squad with all players aged 30 or above, marking a first in their Test history. Nic Maddinson made a return after almost a decade. South Africa missed Kagiso Rabada but welcomed Anrich Nortje back after a lengthy absence. Josh Inglis of Australia is sidelined due to a fractured finger but expected to return for the second Test.

The pitch at Kingsmead has offered lively bounce benefiting pacers like Nortje and Jansen, while South African spinners Maharaj and Harmer challenged Australian batsmen with sharp turn. The match has been closely contested with some standout individual performances shaping the momentum.