Josh Hazlewood delivered the decisive spell as Australia crushed South Africa by 214 runs in Durban, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.
The veteran fast bowler finished with a career-best 6 for 49, triggering a late collapse that ended South Africa’s resistance on the fifth day.
Cricket Australia’s match report said the hosts lost their final four wickets for only five runs once Hazlewood took control with the second new ball.
South Africa was dismissed for 206 while chasing 421, leaving Australia with a comfortable margin despite a long period of resistance from Aiden Markram.
Markram made 75 from 237 deliveries and spent nearly six hours at the crease, but support disappeared quickly once Australia broke the middle-order stand.
Hazlewood’s figures were the best of his Test career and continued a strong run after another six-wicket haul against Bangladesh earlier this year.
The result also completed an extraordinary match for Matt Renshaw, whose 190 in Australia’s first innings rescued the visitors from a dangerous 124 for six.
Renshaw followed that innings with 82 in the second dig and also contributed two wickets, giving Australia influence with both bat and ball.
Reuters reported that Hazlewood dismantled South Africa after the new ball became available, while Mitchell Starc removed Markram during the final collapse.
That sequence turned a patient South African effort into a rapid finish and prevented the hosts from extending the match deep into the final session.
Australia’s victory was especially significant because the tourists had been under pressure early, with South Africa reducing them to 124 for six on day one.
Renshaw’s recovery innings changed the shape of the Test, giving Australia enough runs to let its experienced attack dictate terms across the remaining days.
Captain Pat Cummins later praised the side’s ability to grind through difficult periods instead of depending on one dominant session or individual performance.
The Guardian’s live coverage recorded the victory arriving after South Africa lost its last four wickets in a five-run burst.
Hazlewood’s control was central to that finish, with his disciplined length creating pressure even when the pitch offered fewer obvious rewards than earlier.
Australia’s older bowling group had entered the tour facing questions about workload and longevity, but the first Test produced another clinical performance from the attack.
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma acknowledged that his side had failed to capitalize after gaining the upper hand during Australia’s first-innings collapse.
The home team’s batting will now come under scrutiny after only Markram provided sustained resistance during the fourth-innings chase against Australia’s pace attack.
ABC’s day-five coverage noted Hazlewood’s 6 for 49 and Renshaw’s all-round contribution as the defining performances in the 214-run result.
The win also gives Australia early control of a series that carries additional weight because the teams had not met in South Africa since 2018.
Attention now shifts to Gqeberha, where the second Test begins Sunday and South Africa will need a sharper first-innings response to level the series.
Australia, meanwhile, can approach the next match with selection flexibility and confidence after a victory built on recovery batting, disciplined bowling and a ruthless finish.
For Hazlewood, the six-wicket haul provided another reminder that Australia’s established pace core can still decide Tests quickly when conditions and pressure begin to align.
