Simon Harmer removed Josh Inglis for 102 and Alex Carey for 80 before Kagiso Rabada trapped Pat Cummins lbw for a duck. Gerald Coetzee then had Mitchell Starc caught behind for 11.

Cooper Connolly was unbeaten on 20 alongside Nathan Lyon on two at the interval.

Australia had resumed on 330-4, with Inglis on 85 and Carey on 51, after the pair frustrated the Proteas throughout Wednesday’s final session.

Their unbeaten overnight partnership of 145 had taken the visitors past South Africa’s first-innings total of 329 and left the hosts needing an early breakthrough.

Inglis had earned his recall after Steve Smith was ruled out with a neck problem. His attacking approach on Wednesday, including his willingness to sweep Harmer, had helped Australia recover from the loss of two set batsmen.

Marco Jansen had removed Matt Renshaw for 74 and Cameron Green for 65 in quick succession, leaving Australia 185-4 before Inglis and Carey took the innings forward.

The Proteas will now look to finish off the tail quickly and give their batsmen a manageable deficit in a series locked at 1-1.

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