ICC World Test Championship points table (updated) as of October 31 after SA vs AUS 2026 3rd Test

Defending champions South Africa bowled out Australia for 111 on Day 5 at Newlands, Cape Town, to win the third Test by 176 runs and secure the series 2-1 to move above Australia in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 table. The Temba Bavuma-led side had set a target of 288 for the visitors in the fourth innings, and reduced them to 42-6 after a stunning new ball spell by spearhead Kagiso Rabada.

Australia were reeling at 60 for 7 by lunch, with Kagiso Rabada picking 3 for 14 in a five-over opening spell, having Matt Renshaw caught behind for a golden duck with the first ball of the innings and trapping Marnus Labuschagne leg before for 4 three balls later. Off-spinner Simon Harmer took over to capitalise on the last-day pitch, taking 6 for 16 from 21.1 overs and 10 for 120 in the match, recording career-best figures.

The result in Cape Town massively affects the top of the WTC 2025-27 table as Australia now move out of the crucial top two spots. South Africa, with five wins in seven matches in the current cycle, have 60 points and a win percentage of 71.43, up from 66.67 after the innings win in Gqeberha in the second Test. Australia, who had climbed to 81.82 after Durban, fell from 75.00 to 69.23 with 108 points from 13 matches.

New Zealand, who did not play, hold first place on 72.22% from six matches, with four wins, one defeat and one draw. India sit fourth on 51.52% after 11 matches, one place higher than before because Bangladesh's eight-wicket loss to West Indies in Mirpur dropped them to fifth on 47.62%. The two heavyweights are set to face each other in a two-match Test series in the November-December window.

South Africa completed a resounding comeback after being 1-0 behind in the Test series

Australia had claimed a 1-0 lead in the series after a win in the opener in Durban by 214 runs, a result that knocked South Africa out of the top two and left them needing a response in Gqeberha. The hosts were struggling at 40 for 4 in their first innings in the rain-marred clash, but still won by an innings and 31 runs, bowling Australia out for 99 and enforcing the follow-on.

The series victory also returns South Africa to the top of the ICC Test team rankings for the first time since January 2016 and leaves Australia with four defeats from their past seven Tests as their ageing side is beginning to show signs of decline. The Pat Cummins-led side will tour India for a five-match Test series early next year in a bid to retain the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

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