Temba Bavuma is ready to "throw caution to the wind" after an inspired South Africa performance on day four kept their hopes alive against West Indies.
On another day of limited play due to heavy rain, West Indies struggled through the rest of their innings.
Jason Holder (36) and Kavem Hodge (25) were both taken before Keshav Maharaj (4-76) got his fourth wicket of the innings when Joshua Da Silva (one) was caught.
Kagiso Rabada's 3-56 put West Indies on the back foot, and even Jomel Warrican's 35 could not do much to up their score as they failed to mount a late push.
Jayden Seales was then bowled for four, seeing West Indies finish on 233, trailing the Proteas' score by 124 runs.
South Africa set themselves up nicely for the final day of the Test, with Tony de Zorzi (14) and Aiden Markram (nine) putting the tourists into a 154-run lead at the end of day four.
"Hopefully we can get a full day because that will obviously give us a realistic chance of getting a result," said Bavuma.
"To use the old cliche, we will have to take care of the first hour to set it up and if it's going our way, then we can throw caution to the wind to see what happens.
"But it's imperative that we set it up in that first hour."
De Zorzi and Markram will be looking to keep the pressure on when they resume play at 30-0 on Sunday at Port of Spain.
Rain once again dominates as South Africa lead West Indies by 154 runs heading into day five of first Test
Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada starred on a rainy fourth day of the first Test between the West Indies and South Africa at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain on Saturday.
The West Indies, after starting the day 145-4, were eventually dismissed for 233 in 91.5 overs, trailing South Africa by 124, after the day’s first two sessions were rained out.
Jason Holder and Kavem Hodge, the not our batsmen overnight heading into the day, made 36 and 25, respectively while Jomel Warrican made a significant contribution with 35* batting at number 10.
Maharaj was causing consistent problems for the West Indies batsmen, eventually taking 4-76 off an impressive 40 overs while Rabada took 3-56 off 18 overs.
At stumps, South Africa reached 30-0 off five overs in their second innings, leading the West Indies by 154 runs. Tony de Zorzi was 14* and Aiden Markram 9*.
Full Scores:
South Africa 357 off 117.4 overs (Temba Bavuma 86, Tony de Zorzi 78, Wiaan Mulder 41*, Kyle Verreynne 39, Jomel Warrican 4-69, Jayden Seales 3-67, Kemar Roach 2-53) & 30-0 off 5 overs
West Indies 233 off 91.5 overs (Keacy Carty 42, Jason Holder 36, Kraigg Brathwaite 35, Mikyle Louis 35, Jomel Warrican 35*, Keshav Maharaj 4-76, Kagiso Rabada 3-56)
Pollard blasts Khan for five sixes in a row as Southern Brave secure two-wicket win over Trent Rockets
Kieron Pollard played one of his trademark innings to help the Southern Brave secure an improbable victory over the Trent Rockets in the Men’s Hundred at The Rose Bowl in Southampton on Saturday.
After winning the toss and batting first, the Rockets posted 126-8 from their 100 balls.
Openers Tom Banton and Adam Lyth gave the Rockets a good start with a partnership of 46 for the first wicket before both went in quick succession for 30 and 16, respectively.
A series of starts from Alex Hales (15), Joe Root (16), Rovman Powell (16) and captain Lewis Gregory (19) propelled the Rockets to their score.
Chris Jordan was the pick of the bowlers for the Brave with 3-22 from his 20 balls while Jofra Archer and Danny Briggs took two wickets, each.
The Brave then needed 99 balls to reach 127-8 and secure victory.
After a 43-run opening partnership between Alex Davies and captain James Vince, the Brave lost a cluster of wickets very quickly, eventually struggling at 78-6, needing 49 from 20 balls.
Kieron Pollard, who at that point has scored six off 14 balls, faced up to Rashid Khan in a crucial set of five to likely determine the outcome of the game.
The former West Indies captain then produced one of the most brutal displays of hitting of his career, belting Khan for five sixes in a row to put the Brave firmly in control, now needing 19 from 15 for victory.
The momentum continued in the way of the brave as the next set of five balls went for 10 runs to leave the Brave needing nine runs off 10 balls.
Pollard’s innings came to an end off the first ball of the next set for a 23-ball 45 including two fours and five sixes, bringing Jofra Archer to the crease to join Chris Jordan.
With the Brave eventually needing four runs off two balls, Jordan hit Lewis Gregory for four over square leg to secure the win.
Schmidt: Australia know benchmark after South Africa defeat
Australia coach Joe Schmidt says his team now know the "benchmark" for what is expected after losing to South Africa in their Rugby Championship opener.
Schmidt's unbeaten start in charge of the Wallabies ended on Saturday as they were hammered 33-7 in Brisbane.
Australia trailed 21-0 at half-time after a dominant first half from the Springboks, and though Hunter Paisami managed a late consolation, it was never going to be enough to deny South Africa a first win in Brisbane since 2013.
Schmidt acknowledged how his side were outplayed but explained how the defeat would determine their preparation for the next game.
"They won the physical battle today, their breakdown was really strong, and they dominated possession and territory in that first half, which saps the strength out of the boys a little bit," Schmidt told Stan Sport post-match.
"The team hung in there, fought back, lost the second half 12-7; it would have been great to get a little bit more out of the game, but we've got a benchmark.
"And it wasn't a massive shock to where the Springbok would be, and it's somewhere that we're going to have to build toward."
South Africa have won back-to-back Test matches against the Wallabies in Australia for the first time since July 1993, successfully ending Australia's four-Test winning streak with ease.
Before the tournament, Schmidt had overseen two wins over Wales and another against Georgia in his unbeaten start, but he remains optimistic after taking the positives from their performance.
"We saw some real heart. I thought we got back and defended a couple of times when we were a little bit unlucky, they got a few bounces of the ball which are always going to go in your favour when all the momentum is going your way. And they earn it, and they physically impose it, so that they make it very, very difficult," Schmidt added.
"At the same time, I'm a little bit heartened by the way the boys rolled their sleeves up and kept trying to fight, and then that second half, 12-7 is a lot closer than the three tries they put on in the first half."
Australia will meet South Africa again in the Rugby Championship next weekend in Perth.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
