South Africa vs Australia 2nd Test Day 2 Live Updates from Gqeberha

Match Overview: South Africa vs Australia 2nd Test at St George's Park

The second Test between South Africa and Australia is underway at St George's Park, Gqeberha. Australia leads the three-match series 1-0 after a 214-run victory in Durban. South Africa aims to level the series with a win here.

Key Match Details

• Venue: St George's Park, Gqeberha
• Captains: Temba Bavuma (South Africa), Pat Cummins (Australia)
• Toss Result: Australia won the toss and elected to field first
• Live Telecast: SuperSport Cricket and SABC 3 (South Africa), Fox Sports and Kayo Sports (Australia), Fancode (India)
• Umpires: Chris Gaffaney, Richard Illingworth (on-field), Richard Kettleborough (third umpire), Arno Jacobs (reserve umpire), Javagal Srinath (match referee)
• Match Result: To be decided
• Player of the Match: To be decided

Day 1 Recap

Rain dominated the first day at St George's Park, limiting play significantly. South Africa started their innings but were 20/2 after 11.5 overs when play was called off due to persistent showers.

Scott Boland made an impact early by taking two wickets in one over, removing Aiden Markram and David Bedingham on consecutive balls. Despite this, rain ended the day's action prematurely.

Weather Interruptions and Early Lunch

At 12:27 PM, steady rain sent players off the field. Debutant Marques Ackerman waved to his family as he left for the pavilion under the covers. The umpires then took an early lunch break at 12:37 PM to minimize lost playing time.

The South African opening batsmen showed patience during initial batting, while the Australian bowlers struggled to find consistent swing or seam movement on a calm pitch.

By 1:00 PM, the weather cleared, allowing the ground staff to remove covers quickly and resume play shortly afterward.

Squads and Changes

• South Africa XI: Aiden Markram, Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (c), Matthew Breetzke, Wiaan Mulder, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje
• Australia XI: Travis Head, Nic Maddinson, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Matthew Renshaw, Alex Carey (wk), Beau Webster, Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Josh Hazlewood

South Africa made changes after their defeat in Durban. Tristan Stubbs was dropped to include Matthew Breetzke. Kagiso Rabada returns from a hamstring injury, and Ryan Rickelton takes the wicketkeeping duties.

Australia maintained most of the winning squad from the first Test. Steve Smith passed concussion protocols and is back. Cameron Green is out with an abdominal strain, Josh Inglis returns after recovering from a finger fracture, and Scott Boland replaces Nathan Lyon who is rested.

Win Probability Update

• Australia: 39%
• South Africa: 42%
• Draw: 19%

Test Series Schedule

• 1st Test: Oct 9-13, Kingsmead, Durban, 1:00 p.m. IST
• 2nd Test: Oct 18-22, St George's Park, Gqeberha, 1:30 p.m. IST
• 3rd Test: Oct 27-31, Newlands, Cape Town, 1:00 p.m. IST

Stay tuned for ball-by-ball updates and highlights as the match progresses.