Those runs were taken by Shaun Pollock and Mark Boucher, who put on 77 together in a stand described as "sizzling" by Vaidyanathan – the two hit six fours in four overs after tea, before Lee returned to have Pollock bowled off the inside edge. Boucher put on 18 in the next half-hour with André Nel, and Makhaya Ntini hit 12 from ten balls as South Africa closed on 296, with a lead of 38. Those runs were exactly matched by Australia, but once again Hayden was dismissed for a sub-25 score, as he top edged to wicket-keeper Boucher for 20. Brett Lee was left as nightwatchman, and Langeveldt bowled a no-ball to level the scores two balls before the end of the day.