New Zealand are battling to avoid a heavy defeat at lunch on the final day of the third cricket Test after Morne Morkel struck twice early in their second innings.
Morkel removed Daniel Flynn and Brendon McCullum for ducks to leave the hosts at 2-26 at lunch after being set 389 to win the Test to level the series.
The lanky paceman, handed the new ball ahead of Dale Steyn, had gone wicketless in the first innings and wasted little time in making amends.
Flynn gloved a rising ball through to Mark Boucher in Morkel’s third over and then trapped McCullum lbw with a yorker in his next over.
It was Morkel who broke who Ross Taylor’s arm in the first innings after the New Zealand captain tried to fend off a short ball.
Taylor is due to undergo surgery on his fractured ulna in Wellington on Tuesday and he will not bat in the Test.
The early wickets meant any thought the hosts might of had of a run chase were dumped in favour of a battle for survival.
Things could have been worse for the hosts after Kane Williamson drove Steyn to point where Alviro Petersen claimed a clean catch only for the third umpire to give him a reprieve.
Williamson was 7 and Martin Guptill 14 at lunch with 66 overs to be bowled.
Earlier the Proteas added 114 to their overnight score in just 14.4 overs to declare on 3-189.
AB de Villiers smashed 68 from just 49 balls and JP Duminy also cracked a rapid 33 as the Proteas batted on to leave the Black Caps just 81 overs to reach the total.
Three wickets fell as the tourists went after quick runs and when De Villiers, who crunched eight boundaries and a six in his entertaining innings, was dismissed the declaration came.
Mark Gillespie was the bowler to suffer the most in the face of the onslaught, with his two overs leaking 33 runs.