Du Plessis century and Morkel wickets leave Australia facing uphill battle
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis struck an eighth Test hundred as the hosts piled on the runs on day four of the fourth Test against Australia. The Proteas moved from 134/3 to 334/6 before declaring at tea to leave Australia a huge 612 to win.
Australia tried to batten down the hatches, but lost their top three of Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja and Joe Burns to South Africa's depleted attack to finish the day on 88/3, trailing by 524. They will need to pray for rain, or bat out day five to escape defeat and end the series with a draw.
Du Plessis (120) battled through a vicious blow which drew blood from the index finger to all but secure the series for South Africa, who hold a 2-1 lead. Pat Cummins (4/58), who completed his maiden Test fifty with the bat on day three, continued his potency with the ball to move onto nine wickets for the match, but Australia could not wrestle back any momentum.
The hosts were initially frustrated by factors not under their control. Bad light in Johannesburg meant a delayed start and once they eventually got under way, things stalled once more after 20 minutes. But once the gloom and rain had lifted, South Africa set about building an unassailable lead.
Elgar (81) batted in his typical stoic, determined manner, frustrating the Aussie bowlers with his powers of concentration. The left-handed opener scored at his own pace, taking a back seat to du Plessis as the experienced duo put on 170 runs together.
The skipper reached his fifty from 103 balls balls before Elgar launched a six off Mitchell Marsh to reach the landmark in a much more sedate 199 balls - a total that contained a huge 180 dot balls.
Du Plessis had been struggling for form coming into the knock, having gone 11 innings without a half-century, but he got through some aggressive short-pitched bowling from Cummins to push his side into a completely dominant position.
He picked up the scoring either side of lunch as the lead ticked past 500, before he edged the new ball through the slip cordon to go to three figures. The captain then clobbered a six over cover off Cummins before the fast bowler got his man, caught by the diving Peter Handscomb at slip.
Elgar went soon after, top-edging a sweep off Nathan Lyon (3/182) to Shaun Marsh. His innings of 81 from 250 balls may have been slow, but it did the job perfectly of grinding the opposition down.
Quinton de Kock (4) was trapped lbw by Cummins but Temba Bavuma (35* off 40 balls) and Vernon Philander (33* off 49) scored freely, adding 71 runs as thoughts turned to a declaration. But with Kagiso Rabada suffering from a stiff lower back, Morne Morkel a side strain and Philander himself from a groin injury, they decided to bat on.
Du Plessis called time at tea, leaving Australia four sessions to bat out for a draw. Renshaw (5) kept out 41 balls and survived a drop in the gully from Bavuma before Morkel trapped him lbw.
Keshav Maharaj turned one sharply into Khawaja (7) to win an lbw appeal and after Burns (42) had hooked Rabada for a six and laid into the left-arm spinner Morkel returned to do more damage, spearing in a full and straight delivery which the Aussie opener missed.
After Aiden Markram had turned over his arm for 12 deliveries, bad light reared its head again to leave 11 overs unbowled. But with three bowlers nursing injuries and an entire day left, South Africa might not have minded.
They will need seven more wickets on Tuesday to send Morkel into retirement with a win and a 3-1 series score line.