Amla, de Villiers tons give SAfrica a 631-run lead
Australia was 40 without loss at stumps on day three.
PERTH: AB de Villiers doesn t think he s entirely ruined Ricky Ponting s last test, leaving the former Australia captain the slimmest of opportunities to produce an heroic innings to beat South Africa and reclaim the No. 1 ranking for his country before retirement.
The equation certainly is stacked in South Africa s favor, though, after de Villiers (169) and Hashim Amla (196) produced big centuries in quick time Sunday to lift the tourists to 569 in the second innings and set Australia an unlikely victory target of 632 in the third test.
Australia was 40 without loss at stumps on day three. About the only positives for them is there s still two full days to play and the WACA pitch that was hostile enough early for 20 wickets to tumble in the first five sessions has flattened out completely.
"We haven t ruined his last test match yet hopefully we do," de Villiers said. "We re aware of the fact if we go the full length of the test match, (Australia will) come quite close. We re not arrogant in any way, we know we re going to have to come here and work hard. We know the Australian batters are dangerous players and they won t be giving it away at all."
The 37-year-old Ponting announced on the eve of the match that he d quit after Perth, where he equaled Steve Waugh s record of 168 tests for Australia. He was out for 4 in the first innings, continuing a run of poor form in the series, as Australia was skittled for 163 in reply to South Africa s 225.
Not only did the South African bowlers fire for the first time in the series to have the Australians out in their first innings before tea on day two, but the batsmen plundered 206 runs in the evening session to seize control of the match.
Australia coach Mickey Arthur said he was happy with how Australia bounced back and the strategy from here was simple: "We bat for two days, we win."
"I was really happy with our day today (taking) 8-330 on a really good wicket, then 0-40 at the end of the day," Arthur said. "I m proud of our day s work, but we re paying a price for a very poor day two."
The emotion surrounding Ponting s retirement was supposed to spur the team to greater heights in a match that will determine top spot for 2012. The first three days have gone to top-ranked South Africa, but Arthur hasn t written off the test just yet.
"No," he said, smiling. "Ricky will get 250 not out in the second innings and it ll be fantastic."
The record successful fourth-innings chase is West Indies 418-7 to beat Australia at St. John s in 2003. The South Africans went close to that here four years ago when they scored 414-4
with Arthur as coach
to beat Australia and clinch the 2008 series.
The highest fourth-innings total ever was England s 654-5, from 218 eight-ball overs, chasing 696 to beat South Africa in a famous timeless match at Durban in March, 1939, when both captains finally agreed to a draw after 10 days of play so the tourists could get a ship back to Britain.
David Warner (29) and Ed Cowan (9) started the long and unlikely push for a win, surviving 61 minutes before stumps to cut the target to 592.
Both openers have scored centuries in this series and the Australians have runs on the board from skipper Michael Clarke, who has scored double centuries in the first two drawn tests and Mike Hussey, who has two centuries. Ponting, Australia s all-time leading run-scorer, is yet to produce a decent innings and is due to bat at No. 4.
Amla batted at No. 3 for South Africa and stroked 20 boundaries as he shared stands of 178 with Graeme Smith (84), 81 with Jacques Kallis (37) and 149 with de Villiers until he gave a return catch to Mitchell Johnson in the middle session.
He started the day on 99, with South Africa at 230-2, and reached his 18th test hundred in the first over. He treated the inexperienced bowling attack almost with disdain at times by walking across his off stump and flicking the ball onto the legside, scoring with ease for most of his 221-ball knock.
De Villiers took up where Amla left off, reaching his 14th test hundred with three consecutive reverse sweeps for boundaries from offspinner Nathan Lyon and belting 21 boundaries and three sixes before he was eventually caught behind off Mitch Starc for 169.
After pounding the Australian bowlers for three sessions, the South Africans lost their last five wickets for 31 runs.
Left-arm pacemen Starc (6-154) and Johnson (4-110) took every second-innings wicket for an Australian attack that was missing all three pacemen who played in the first two drawn tests.
Johnson s double breakthrough in one over to remove Amla and Dean Elgar, who made a pair of ducks on debut, sparked Australia s comeback. He also dismissed Faf du Plessis (27), who had been a thorn in Australia s side since batting through the last day to salvage a draw for South Africa in his test debut at Adelaide.
Du Plessis scored 215 between dismissals and has 293 in four innings, remaining not out twice. Starc then dismissed the last three tailenders as South Africa deciding not to declare.
