This may sound like a big claim after the events of Perth and Melbourne but the facts of the fourth day speak for themselves. They first took nine Australian wickets for 156 runs and then posted a confident 178/2 in reply on a full day's cricket played out in bright sunshine in front of a huge crowd.
Whether they can go on from here to complete a turnaround of mammoth proportions only time will tell. At the close they were a tantalising 276 runs away from victory with eight wickets in hand with both Hashim Amla (43 off 88 balls with six fours) and Jacques Kallis (26 off 40 balls with three fours) looking well set.
To win the Test they will have to challenge history as no team has ever managed to score 454 in the fourth innings of a successful runs chase at Test level. It would be the second highest fourth innings total in the history of Test cricket, only being exceeded by the 654 that England made in the drawn timeless test at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead in 1939.
The highest successful fourth innings runs chase is the 418 that the West Indies made against Australia although the Proteas can draw resolve from the second highest runs chase of 414 that they compiled against Australia at Perth in December.
For those interested in the significance of numbers take note of the following: Australia set South Africa 414 to win at Perth, they made 434 at the Liberty Life Wanderers Stadium in that epic limited overs clash in 2006 and now they have set the Proteas 454 this time.
“We know that history is against us,” commented Paul Harris, one of the outstanding Proteas' bowlers of the fourth day. “But we can certainly draw on the experience of Perth. The pitch here isn't as flat as the one at Perth and the target is a bit larger but the guys have felt a lot more comfortable batting in the second innings than they did earlier in the match.
“Once you have got in, it is possible to get a big score but the secret is to get started because wickets have tended to fall in clumps.”
The Proteas needed a stand-out performance to get back into this Test and it came from Kallis who picked up three wickets in two overs, including Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey off successive balls to be on the brink of a hat trick.
Both he and AB de Villiers then took superlative catches close to the bat to turn the screw further. De Villiers' left-handed effort at leg slip to get rid of top scorer Phillip Hughes was a moment of inborn instinct and the fielder said afterwards that the first time he saw the ball was when it safely clutched in his left hand. It was truly a moment of instinctive genius.
Makhaya Ntini then produced a superb spell before lunch to take the three wickets that enabled him to draw level with Ian Botham in 11th place on the all-time list with 383 dismissals. He now has to go past West Indies great Curtly Ambrose on 405 to enter the top 10.
Smith and Neil McKenzie got the Proteas away to a good start with a stand of 76 for the first wicket and then Smith and Amla followed with a further 54 for the second. But they will need a couple of century partnerships to finish the job.
The celebrations of the Australians when Smith was dismissed was a clear indication of the value they put on the Proteas' captain's wicket and only time will tell whether this was a decisive moment of the match.
