By the second hour of the third day’s play in Bulawayo, the outlook had already turned bleak for Zimbabwe. South Africa’s third-wicket partnership between Wiaan Mulder and David Bedingham had grown to 72, scoring at over five runs an over. Zimbabwe’s spearhead, Blessing Muzarabani, was off the field due to illness. The field placements were defensive, and the home side looked out of answers.

Then came a breakthrough, with some luck. Wellington Masakadza, brought back to bowl the 33rd over, banged one in short to Bedingham, who should have dispatched it to the boundary. Instead, he mistimed it straight to midwicket and fell for a brisk 35. That dismissal triggered a mini-collapse, with South Africa losing 3 for 19 in five overs; the only passage of play that swung slightly in Zimbabwe’s favor.

Apart from that, it was a day of South Africa’s dominance. Mulder, who had added 63 with Tony de Zorzi for the second wicket, then had a partnership of 104 with Kyle Verreynne for the sixth. South Africa’s No. 3 ended up hitting a career-best 147 at a strike rate of 71.35, and put the match out of Zimbabwe’s reach. They were set an improbable target of 537 after South Africa were bowled out for 369 in their second innings, and ended the day at 32 for 1.

Mulder, who started the day patiently like the last evening, lost de Zorzi when the left-hander edged Tanaka Chivanga to second slip for 31. But each time the bowlers strayed in line or pitched too full, Mulder didn’t hesitate to drive at the ball for a boundary. Those occasional boundaries and Bedingham’s quick start kept South Africa chugging. Mulder brought up his fifty with a huge six off Masakadza over midwicket in the 24th over, by which time South Africa’s overall lead had passed 250 after they went 167 ahead on he first innings on day two.

Zimbabwe resorted to spin from that point, bowling nine consecutive overs, but the move didn’t stem the flow. Mulder and Bedingham added 44 quick runs during that phase. It was Bedingham’s miscue off Masakadza that gave Zimbabwe a window. Vincent Masekesa then exploited the rough outside off to turn one sharply into Lhuan-dre Pretorius, bowling him for 4. Masekesa struck again in the 38th over, removing Dewald Brevis for 3 when the batter attempted an ambitious hoick but missed.

With South Africa 155 for 5 and Zimbabwe in control, Mulder capitalised on the hittable balls. He drove, flicked and glanced for three boundaries in the next two overs, and reached his second Test hundred in the 43rd over with another boundary. Chivanga bowled short and wide, and Mulder punched it to the cover boundary in what was the last over before lunch. By then, South Africa were already ahead by 352.

Five overs after the break, Mulder and Verreynne kept finding boundaries regularly as Masekesa and Chivanga lacked control. With every run and boundary, Zimbabwe’s energy and confidence visibly dropped. Although the spinners were getting some turn, it wasn’t enough to trouble two well-set batters.

The century partnership was eventually broken by a short ball, as Wessly Madhevere had Mulder caught at deep midwicket. Three balls later, Masakadza found just enough turn to take the edge of Verreynne’s bat, with the catch taken at slip for 36. At 259 for 7- just as when they were 155 for 5 – Zimbabwe found renewed hope. But what do you do when you’re at the mercy of the opposition captain?

Keshav Maharaj and Corbin Bosch only deepened Zimbabwe’s woes, extending the lead beyond 425 with a quickfire 92-run stand. Maharaj began cautiously with three dots, but starting from the 61st over, the pair added 47 runs in just eight overs. Maharaj struck three fours and a six, including two consecutive boundaries off Masekesa, while Bosch contributed with two boundaries of his own, including a reverse sweep off Madhevere.

With the lead nearly 500, and Zimbabwe’s shoulders dropping, more pain came their way in the last over before tea. Muzarabani, by then back on the field and eligible to bowl after making up for his time off, had Bosch caught at first slip off a no-ball. Thus, Maharaj and Bosch continued to pile on the runs. South Africa’s captain got to a half-century off 64 balls in the 77th over, but in the next one, Masakadza bowled Bosch by turning one off the rough outside leg. As a result, Bosch’s average halved to 108.50.

Masakadza had his fourth wicket soon after, removing Maharaj, who missed one after skipping down the pitch. Muzarabani then cleaned up Kwena Maphaka to finally bring Zimbabwe’s ordeal to an end.

Set a daunting 537 to win and with stumps approaching, openers Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Prince Masvaure adopted a defensive approach. Only eight runs were scored in the first seven overs, as Codi Yusuf and Mulder probed with discipline. When the final over of the day began, Zimbabwe had reached just 32, and 15 of those runs were extras. The second ball of that over turned out to be the last of the day, as Kaitano edged Bosch to second slip, giving South Africa their first breakthrough in their pursuit of victory.

Brief scores:

South Africa 418 for 9 dec in 90 overs (Lhuan-dre Pretorius 153, Dewald Brevis 51, Corbin Bosch 100*, Keshav Maharaj 21, Codi Usuf  27 ; Blessing Muzarabani 2-59, Tanaka  Chivanga 4-83) and  369 in  82.5 overs  (Wiaan Mulder 147, Toni de Zorzi 31, David Bedingham 35, Kyle Verrynne 36, Corbin Bosch 36, Keshav Maharaj 51; Tanaka Chivango 2-56, Wellington Masakadza 4-98, Vincent Masakesa 2-117) need another 505 runs to beat  Zimbabwe 251 in 67.4 overs  (Sean Williams 137, Craig Ervine 36; Wiaan Mulder 4-50, Codi Yusuf 3-42, Keshav Maharaj 3-70) and 32/1 in 18.2 overs (Prince  Masvaure 5*, Corbin Bosch 1-1)

[Cricinfo]