Twitter Reactions: Paine and Cummins strain, but hosts in the ascendancy

Australia had a horrendous outing on the second day of the fourth Test at the Wanderers and were almost bowled out. While the advantage well and truly lying with South Africa, it required herculean efforts from the Australians to get a foothold into the game. At the start of the day, Australia were faced with the daunting task of saving the follow-on.

However, Tim Paine and Patrick Cummins showed immense determination. The duo stitched together an impressive partnership of 99 runs to garner some momentum into the Australian innings. Tim Paine scored an impressive half-century against some fiery bowling by the Proteas pacers. On the other hand, Cummins, expertly, staved off the bowlers and notched his maiden half-century in Tests.

South Africa prolong the agony for the visitors

However, following the partnership, Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada shaved off the tail. Meanwhile, Faf du Plessis’ men finished with a humongous lead of 267 runs. However, instead of enforcing the follow on, they came out to bat. They didn’t blaze away, however, ensured that the scoreboard kept moving consistently. Patrick Cummins drew first blood for the Aussies with the scalp of Aiden Markram.

Hashim Amla hasn’t had the best of series with the willow ad he stuttered yet again. The Durban-born cricketer eventually perished to Nathan Lyon, when he was caught down the leg side by Mitchell Marsh. Australia had another momentary joy when Cummins churned out the prized scalp of AB de Villiers. Meanwhile, Dean Elgar telecasted patience and put a price tag on his wicket.

He scored 39 runs off 154 runs and saw off the South African innings till the close of play without further hiccups. Faf du Plessis joined Elgar after de Villiers’ dismissal and played handsomely as well. The day wasn’t disappointing for Australia by any stretch of the imagination, however, the damage on the first couple of days have kept them on the back foot ahead of the fourth day as well.

Here is how Twitter reacted following the exciting day’s play