Josh Hazlewood took six wickets as Australia completed a 214-run win over South Africa on the fifth day of the first Test at Kingsmead on Tuesday (October 13, 2026).

Fast bowler Hazlewood twice broke promising stands and finished with six for 49.

Player of the match Matt Renshaw scored 190 during the first innings as he ended a near-decade wait for a second Test century.

The hosts, set 421 runs to win, were bowled out for 206, in the first Test series between the teams in South Africa since the 2018 sandpaper scandal.

“It’s a great way to kick off a series, particularly from the position we were on day one,” the tourists’ captain Pat Cummins said after they were 124 for six early on before controlling the rest of the fixture against the world Test champions.

Cummins added he was proud of the team for “clawing our way back, kind of grinding it out, and then once we had the lead, you know, not giving it back”.

“I think our standards were very high for the last three or four days,” he added.

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma said his players needed to learn from the way Australia played after his first loss in 13 Tests as captain.

“They showed their experience, they showed their skill to get themselves into a very competitive position,” Bavuma said.

“You don’t want to give them that opportunity to play the game from the front.

“We had the opportunity to prepare as well as we could.”

“I think a lot of the mistakes we made out there were mental,” he added after South Africa’s first Test in 11 months.

Record-breaker Smith

Opening batsman Aiden Markram defied the bowlers for a minute short of six hours, scoring 75 before he was ninth out, caught behind from an inside edge off Mitchell Starc.

The last four wickets fell for five runs in the space of 16 deliveries against the second new ball.

Markram and Wiaan Mulder (29) were largely untroubled as they batted through the first 110 minutes of the day.

But a double bowling change brought two wickets.

Mulder was caught down the legside by wicketkeeper Alex Carey off Hazlewood for 29 after a 139-minute innings during which he faced 110 balls.

Renshaw came on to bowl his off-spinners in the next over and with his first ball dismissed Kyle Verreynne for a single when the South Africa wicketkeeper played a forcing shot against a wide ball and edged a catch to Steve Smith at slip.

It was the continuation of a dream match for Renshaw, who top-scored in both innings with 190 and 82, then took his first Test wicket when he dismissed Bavuma on Monday.

It was Smith’s fifth catch of a match in which he became the world record-holder for most catches by a fielder in Tests.

Smith was back in action after being off the field at the start of South Africa’s innings on Monday following a blow on the head while batting.

Marco Jansen made 35 and added 45 with Markram before Hazlewood bowled him in the fourth over with the second new ball.

Three balls later Simon Harmer gloved a sharply lifting ball to Carey.

Australia were in trouble with the bat on the first day but dominated the rest of the match after Renshaw steered them to a first-innings total of 390.

South Africa will need to bounce back quickly in the second Test of the three-match series in Gqeberha starting on Sunday, when Bavuma hinted that key fast bowler Kagiso Rabada would likely be fit to play.

Australia ‌play their first test in South Africa since the ​2018 ball-tampering scandal when they start a three-match series ⁠in Durban on Friday (October 9), with the visitors unlikely to face more than a few heckles over the incident that rocked the sport eight years ago.

The tourists’ ‌efforts to roughen up the ball using sandpaper, and aid reverse swing, in Cape Town in March 2018 were caught ‌on camera and led to a major reckoning for the ‌game ⁠in Australia, with captain Steve Smith among those banned for ⁠their role in the subterfuge.

South Africa has played tests in Australia since ‘Sandpapergate’, and Australia have toured South Africa in the interim for limited-overs internationals.

The scandal has attracted little ​media focus in South Africa ‌over recent weeks in comparison to the attention devoted to the incident in the Australian press.

After dethroning Australia last year in a thrilling World Test Championship final at Lord’s to win a first ‌major title, South Africa are focused on improving their chances ​of a return to the final at the end of the 2025–27 WTC cycle.

Australia are also in need of ⁠a boost after a surprise home test defeat by Bangladesh in August and with an Ashes tour to England starting next June.

The pitch at ‌Kingsmead often proves a fickle track but should offer the spinners a chance to play a leading role in a change from South Africa’s usually seamer-friendly surfaces.

It is unusual for South Africa’s chances to be largely entrusted to their spin attack, but Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj wreaked havoc in India last November when they triumphed in ‌their last two test outings.

Spin was also a key factor for the home side ​as they beat Australia in the recent One-Day International series.

South Africa may therefore opt to rest frontline attack bowler ⁠Kagiso Rabada from the test as he continues his comeback from a ⁠hamstring injury.

Injury to Australia all-rounder Cameron Green opens up a chance at number five for Cooper Connolly, or a fairytale return ‌for 34-year-old Nic Maddinson after recovering from cancer.

South Africa’s also has a choice to make over their number three batsman, with ​coach Shukri Conrad having several options including a potential first cap for 30-year-old Marques Ackerman.