South Africa won the South Africa vs Australia Test series 2026 by 2-1. After losing the first Test in Durban by 214 runs, they won by an innings in Gqeberha and then by 176 runs in the decider at Newlands, Cape Town, on Saturday, 31 October. Simon Harmer took 10 wickets in the final Test, and Marco Jansen was player of the series with 198 runs and 13 wickets.
The win took South Africa to No. 1 in the ICC men’s Test team rankings for the first time since January 2016, and lifted them to second in the World Test Championship (WTC) table. Australia dropped to third, and that matters for India: Australia’s points percentage (PCT) is now below the highest India can reach.
| Series | Australia tour of South Africa 2026, three Tests (WTC 2025-27) |
| Result | South Africa won 2-1 |
| Captains | Temba Bavuma (South Africa), Pat Cummins (Australia) |
| Player of the series | Marco Jansen (198 runs, 13 wickets) |
South Africa vs Australia Test series 2026: results
| Test | Dates and venue | Scores | Result | Player of the match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 9 to 13 October, Kingsmead, Durban | Australia 390 and 314/6 dec; South Africa 284 and 206 | Australia won by 214 runs | Matt Renshaw (190) |
| 2nd | 18 to 22 October, St George’s Park, Gqeberha | South Africa 425/9 dec; Australia 99 and 295 (following on) | South Africa won by an innings and 31 runs | Temba Bavuma (179) |
| 3rd | 27 to 31 October, Newlands, Cape Town | South Africa 329 and 387; Australia 429 and 111 | South Africa won by 176 runs | Simon Harmer (10/120) |
3rd Test, Cape Town: Harmer and Rabada win the decider
Result (31 October): South Africa 329 and 387 beat Australia 429 and 111 by 176 runs. Simon Harmer 4/104 and 6/16. Player of the match: Simon Harmer.
Australia needed 288 on the final day, with 90 overs to bat. Within the first hour the chase was over in all but name. Kagiso Rabada removed Matt Renshaw for a duck, Marnus Labuschagne lbw for 4 and Travis Head for 14, caught by Jansen at gully. Head was Rabada’s 350th Test wicket, and Australia were 22 for 3.
Josh Inglis, who made 102 in the first innings, was run out for 4 going for a quick single with Cameron Green. Alex Carey and Cooper Connolly also fell cheaply, and Australia went to lunch on 60 for 7. Harmer then finished the job. He bowled Green for 27, caught and bowled Mitchell Starc for a 25-ball duck, and trapped Cummins lbw for 11 after the captain had batted 90 balls. Josh Hazlewood was bowled for a duck, and Australia were all out for 111 just before tea. Nathan Lyon was left on 33 not out.
Harmer’s 6 for 16 came from 21.1 overs, 14 of them maidens, and gave him the first 10-wicket match of his Test career. “That is the stuff of dreams for a spinner,” he said. Cummins was blunt: “Within the first hour really, the game was away for us, so we didn’t give ourselves a chance.”
Day 4 (30 October): South Africa 387 all out in their second innings, leading by 287. Wiaan Mulder 115 (221 balls), Ryan Rickelton 101 (219 balls), Matthew Breetzke 43. Nathan Lyon 2/101.
South Africa started the day only 40 ahead with six wickets left. Rickelton and Mulder batted through most of the day and added 154 for the sixth wicket. Rickelton reached his hundred and was then run out after a mix-up with Mulder. Mulder made 115, his fourth Test century, and raised his bat in memory of his late father. He was the last man out, caught by Starc off Cummins, and South Africa were all out for 387 at the close.
Day 3 (29 October): Australia 429 all out, a lead of 100. South Africa 140/4 in their second innings, leading by 40. Josh Inglis 102, Alex Carey 80; Marques Ackerman 62. Mitchell Starc 2/29.
Inglis completed his second Test hundred, and his fifth-wicket stand with Carey grew to 185 before Harmer removed both. South Africa lost Aiden Markram for 1 in the third over, and Lyon bowled Bavuma for 35 shortly before the close.
Day 2 (28 October): Australia 330/4, leading by 1 run. Josh Inglis 85*, Alex Carey 51*. Marco Jansen 2/37, Simon Harmer 2/84.
Harmer removed Head for 41 and Labuschagne for a duck in one over. Renshaw (74) and Green (65) rebuilt the innings, and Jansen’s removal of both took him past 100 Test wickets. Inglis and Carey then added an unbroken 145.
Day 1 (27 October): South Africa 329 all out. Marques Ackerman 95, Aiden Markram 78, Marco Jansen 52, David Bedingham 50. Mitchell Starc 6/72.
Ackerman and Markram put on 158 for the first wicket, but Starc’s 20th five-wicket haul in Tests bowled South Africa out on the first day. Australia made four changes: Green returned from injury, Lyon was recalled, Connolly came in and Inglis replaced the injured Steve Smith.
WTC table after the South Africa vs Australia series
A win is worth 12 points. South Africa now have 60 points from seven Tests (71.43), and Australia have 108 from 13 Tests (69.23). These are the top five after the Cape Town Test, before any over-rate penalty from the match:
| Pos | Team | Played | Points | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand | 6 | 52 | 72.22 |
| 2 | South Africa | 7 | 60 | 71.43 |
| 3 | Australia | 13 | 108 | 69.23 |
| 4 | India | 11 | 68 | 51.52 |
| 5 | Bangladesh | 7 | 40 | 47.62 |
Australia were on 81.82 after winning in Durban and finish the series on 69.23. Our WTC points table 2025-27 page has the full standings and explains how PCT works.
South Africa are the No. 1 Test team
The series win moved South Africa above Australia in the ICC men’s Test team rankings, on 124 rating points to Australia’s 122. It is the first time South Africa have been top since January 2016. India are fourth on 105, one point behind New Zealand.
2nd Test, Gqeberha: Bavuma and Jansen level the series
Rain wiped out most of the first two days, and Scott Boland’s four early wickets had South Africa 97 for 5 at the end of day 2. Then Bavuma batted for most of day 3. He reached his fifth Test hundred and made 179 off 334 balls, Jansen hit 85, and Bavuma and Simon Harmer (82) added 183 for the eighth wicket, South Africa’s highest Test stand for that wicket. South Africa declared on 425 for 9. Boland finished with 5 for 81.
Australia collapsed for 99 on day 4, with Jansen taking 5 for 33, and Bavuma enforced the follow-on. Travis Head made 121 off 190 balls second time round, but Wiaan Mulder bowled him, Kagiso Rabada removed Smith and Starc, and Jansen finished the match an hour after tea on day 5. Australia were all out for 295. “We were a long way away from our best,” Cummins said.
Two notes from the match: Starc’s dismissal of Mulder was his 450th Test wicket, and Australia had left out Lyon for a four-man pace attack, a call they reversed in Cape Town.
1st Test, Durban: Renshaw’s 190 and Hazlewood’s best
Australia were 124 for 6 on the first evening and 230 for 8 early on day 2 before Renshaw turned the match. He made 190 and added 134 for the ninth wicket with Lyon, and Australia reached 390. Mulder took four wickets, and Anrich Nortje two on his return to Test cricket after three and a half years.
South Africa replied with 284. Australia declared on 314 for 6 to set a target of 421, and although Markram batted 237 balls for 75, Josh Hazlewood took 6 for 49, the best figures of his Test career, to bowl South Africa out for 206 on the final day. It was the first Test between the sides since South Africa beat Australia in the 2025 WTC final at Lord’s.
Leading performers in the series
| Player | Team | Series highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Marco Jansen | South Africa | Player of the series: 198 runs and 13 wickets, 5/33 and 85 in Gqeberha, 100th Test wicket in Cape Town |
| Simon Harmer | South Africa | 10/120 in Cape Town, including 6/16, and 82 in Gqeberha |
| Temba Bavuma | South Africa | 179 in Gqeberha, player of the match |
| Kagiso Rabada | South Africa | 350th Test wicket in the final-day collapse in Cape Town |
| Wiaan Mulder | South Africa | 115 in the Cape Town second innings |
| Matt Renshaw | Australia | 190 and 82 in Durban, player of the match |
| Mitchell Starc | Australia | 450th Test wicket in Gqeberha, 6/72 in Cape Town |
| Josh Inglis | Australia | 102 in Cape Town as Smith’s replacement |
Read more on Jansen’s rise in our Marco Jansen ICC rankings story.
What the series means for India
India are fourth in the WTC on 51.52 with seven Tests left: two in New Zealand and five at home against Australia. Winning all seven would take India to 70.37. That is now higher than Australia’s 69.23, but still below New Zealand (72.22) and South Africa (71.43), so India still need help.
The best news for India is that the help can come from their own results. If India win both Tests in New Zealand, New Zealand fall to 54.17. Australia then still have five Tests in India, and every Indian win in that series also costs Australia 12 points.
More cricket: the ICC player rankings and India’s next Tests on our India tour of New Zealand 2026 page.
KhelGossip’s view: South Africa’s attack is the most complete in the world right now
Australia made more runs than South Africa in Cape Town’s first innings and still lost by 176. That tells the story of the series. South Africa’s batting wobbled more than once, but their bowling had an answer for every situation: Jansen’s bounce in Gqeberha, Rabada’s pace with the new ball on the last morning, and Harmer’s control on a turning Newlands pitch. Australia had no one to match Harmer once the ball started to turn.
In our view, the series changes the WTC race more than any result this year. Australia had looked certain to reach a third straight final. Now they sit third, and their remaining Tests are four at home against New Zealand and five in India. South Africa, with home Tests against Bangladesh and England to come, are suddenly the team best placed to defend their title.
For India, the lesson is to stop thinking of Australia as out of reach. The door is open, but only if India win in New Zealand first.
Updated 2 November 2026, after the 3rd Test. WTC figures are KhelGossip calculations from the ICC points system. Main sources: ICC, ABC News and Sky Sports.
