Ricky Ponting marked his 100th Test with a majestic hundred and Adam Gilchrist providentially found his form as Australia fought back to concede a first-innings lead of just 92 in the third Test against South Africa on Wednesday.
Skipper Ponting became only the sixth player to score a century in his 100th Test with his 120. And his deputy, Gilchrist, rediscovered his scoring touch with a blazing 86 to shake the Sydney Test into life after days of cricket torpor.
Australia were dismissed for 359 after the last three wickets added 96, in reply to the South Africans’ 451 for nine declared.
In the final over, South Africa lost the wicket of AB de Villiers in the evening gloom, lbw to Brett Lee for one, to end the day on four for one, 96 ahead. Skipper Graeme Smith was not out three.
Ponting joined Colin Cowdrey (104), Gordon Greenidge (149), Inzamam-ul-Haq (184), Javed Miandad (145) and Alec Stewart (105) with a ton in his 100th Test.
When the momentum in the Australian run chase slowed after three wickets fell for four runs, Gilchrist staged a display of batting pyrotechnics, damaging three bats in the process.
He shook off a poor run of scores to thrill the home crowd with 10 fours and two sixes, frustrating South African attempts to grab a much bigger innings lead with two days remaining.
Gilchrist found willing allies in Brett Lee (17), Stuart MacGill (29) and Glenn McGrath (1) to prolong the Proteas’ agony before he was caught by Mark Boucher off Andre Nel.
Australia began the day on a shaky 54-3 as South Africa pressed for victory to square the three-match series.
But Ponting put on 130 for the fourth wicket with Mike Hussey, raising his hundred off a misfield by Jacques Rudolph at mid-on.
Hussey went on to make 45 before he was caught off his glove and pad by Mark Boucher, giving debutant off-spinner Johan Botha his first Test wicket.
Umpire Aleem Dar controversially turned down a strident lbw appeal by Nel when Hussey was on nine and Australia on 102 for three. Television replays showed the ball pitched in line with the stumps and did not deviate.
Ponting was out just before tea, lbw to Jacques Kallis, after an innings lasting 174 balls with 12 fours and a six.
Wickets then began to fall. Nel dismissed Andrew Symonds (12) and Shane Warne (0) with consecutive deliveries to finish with 4-81 before Gilchrist stopped the rot.
The milestones tumbled for Ponting, who finished 2005 as leading Test scorer with 1 544 runs at 61,32 and this week supplanted Kallis as cricket’s top-rated batsman.
He became Australia’s third all-time leading scorer when he passed Mark Waugh’s Test aggregate of 8 029 runs. The Aussie skipper now has Allan Border (11 174) and Steve Waugh (10 927) ahead of him.
Ponting, who has hit four centuries in his last six Tests this southern summer, had a big let-off on 95 when he survived a confident lbw appeal off Charl Langeveldt, which was turned down by Dar. ”Hawkeye” technology had the ball hitting middle and leg stumps. — Sapa-AFP