South Africa need six wickets on the final day for victory after Kyle Verreynne's maiden Test century left New Zealand needing to pull off a record run chase in the second Test.
New Zealand will resume on day five at 94-4, trailing by 332 runs after the Proteas declared at 354-9, setting the Black Caps an improbable target of 426 to win.
If the Proteas manage to clinch victory, it will deny New Zealand their first-ever Test series victory over South Africa after dominating the first Test at the same venue, Hagley Oval, last week.
New Zealand faced 42 overs after Dean Elgar's declaration late in the middle session, with Kagiso Rabada adding two more wickets to his first-innings five-wicket haul, while Keshav Maharaj also claimed two dismissals.
Verreynne was crucial to South Africa establishing complete dominance having resumed on day four at 5-140, with an overall lead of 211 runs.
The South African wicketkeeper-batsman was the perennial figure as the Proteas added 214 runs to their overnight score, with handy contributions from Wiann Mulder (35) and Kagiso Rabada (47), whose knock came from 34 balls and was a career high with the bat.
Verreynne and Rabada combined for a 78-run eighth-wicket stand which took the life out of New Zealand, who had hoped for a final-innings target no greater than 300.
Shortly after Rabada was dismissed, Verreynne brought up his maiden Test century swiping a length ball wide of fine leg.
Verreynne finished unbeaten on 136, with Tim Southee, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner all claiming two wickets each.
Tasked with a record run chase, New Zealand's pursuit started disastrously with Rabada dismissing Will Young and Tom Latham in the first and third overs. New Zealand were soon 25-3 when Maharaj - who sent down 16 overs in a row - bowled Henry Nicholls.
Devon Conway (60*) and Daryl Mitchell steadied the innings but Maharaj dismissed the latter for 24 late in the day.
Record run chase required
South Africa's declaration left New Zealand needing an unlikely 426 to win, which exceeds the current fourth-innings world record chase of 418 by West Indies against Australia in St John's in 2003. With the Black Caps four down, that is unlikely to be threatened.
Verreynne firming as worthy de Kock's successor
Verreynne's opportunity in the Proteas line-up has come following Quinton de Kock's premature retirement and he is beginning to prove he is the future for South Africa after only six Tests.
Marmoush makes Frankfurt history with 10th Bundesliga goal of season
Omar Marmoush made club history with his goal in Eintracht Frankfurt's 7-2 win over Bochum.
The forward was on target and provided two assists as Dino Toppmoller's side leapfrogged reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen to third place in the table.
Marmoush notched up his 10th goal of the season, becoming the first Frankfurt player to achieve the feat in the opening nine matches of a Bundesliga season.
The Egypt international broke Tony Yeboah's record of nine goals in as many matchdays, set during the 1993-94 campaign.
With his two assists, Marmoush took his tally of direct goal contributions for this season to 16, the joint-most in the Bundesliga along with Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane.
In fact, Kane is the only player to have previously registered more direct goal contributions after the first nine games of a Bundesliga campaign, with 17 last term.
Southampton 1-0 Everton: Late Armstrong strike seals Saints' first win
Adam Armstrong's late goal gave Southampton their first Premier League win of the season as they beat Everton 1-0 at St Mary's.
Armstrong’s first league strike of the season came in the 85th minute of Saturday's tightly fought contest, while lifting the Saints off the foot of the table.
Aaron Ramsdale had earlier kept the scores level with a fine save from Michael Keane's close-range header, while substitute Beto nodded against the crossbar.
Southampton broke through five minutes from time when substitute Yukinari Sugawara's low centre was superbly swept home by Armstrong.
Everton thought they had an equaliser when Beto raced in behind and finished brilliantly beyond Ramsdale.
However, a VAR review showed that the Brazilian had strayed offside, and the goal was overturned, to the delight of the home fans, who celebrated a Premier League victory for the first time since March 2023.
Data Debrief: Saints off the mark
Southampton finally have their first victory on the board courtesy of Armstrong's strike which, timed at 84 minutes and 33 seconds, is their latest Premier League winning goal since Charlie Austin struck six seconds later against Arsenal in December 2018.
The Saints also recorded their 14th Premier League win against Everton at home, now their outright most against a single opponent in the competition.
As for the Toffees, their five-game unbeaten league run comes to an end, and they have now lost 11 of their last 15 league games in November.
Ipswich Town 1-1 Leicester City: Late Ayew strike denies hosts first win
Jordan Ayew's stoppage-time equaliser snatched a point for Leicester City, who held 10-man Ipswich Town to a 1-1 draw.
The Foxes substitute cancelled out Leif Davis' volley earlier in the second half to deny the hosts' the first win of the season at Portman Road.
Ipswich broke through 10 minutes after the restart when Davis marked his 100th appearance for the club with a superbly timed volley from Sam Morsy's crossfield pass.
However, they were forced to finish the final 13 minutes a man light after Kalvin Phillips' dismissal for a second bookable offence.
The hosts were given a scare when, within moments of his introduction, Ayew chipped Arijanet Muric, only to be thwarted on the line by Cameron Burgess.
However, the Ghanaian and Leicester were not to be denied. In the 94th minute, Ayew played a neat one-two with Jamie Vardy before slotting home to ensure a share of the spoils.
Data Debrief: Ipswich's wait goes on
Ipswich have now failed to win any of their first 10 Premier League games this season. Only in 2009-10 (14) and 2018-19 (11) have they begun a league campaign with a longer winless streak.
Having also let a two-goal lead slip at Brentford last time out, Kieran McKenna's side have now dropped a league-high 12 points from winning positions this term.
As for Leicester, they left it late once more, with Ayew's 98th-minute winner sealing a 3-2 victory over Southampton from 2-0 down in their last league game away from home.
The Foxes continue their record as one of only two sides - along with reigning champions Manchester City - to score in all 10 of their matches this season.
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