DHAKA: Australia slipped to a fourth successive Test defeat as South Africa won the opening Test of their three-match series by 177 runs in Perth.

Set a notional 539, the hosts were bowled out for 361 in the extended second session on the final day thanks to 21-year-old pace bowler Kagiso Rabada’s 5-92, reports the BBC.

Usman Khawaja made 97 and Peter Nevill an unbeaten 60 for Australia, who lost 3-0 in Sri Lanka in August.

Victory was South Africa's third in a row at the Waca, after 2008 and 2012.

It was completed without Dale Steyn, the world's number two-ranked bowler who was ruled out of the series on Friday with a fractured shoulder.

Australia, 169-4 overnight, survived for 119 overs in total in the fourth innings on a pitch featuring large cracks.

However, their first-innings collapse proved costly, slipping from 158-0 to 244 all out in response to South Africa’s 242.

The second Test in Hobart starts on Saturday (November 12) and the final Test in Adelaide on November 24.

Australia batsman Joe Burns will replace Shaun Marsh, who suffered a broken finger in Perth, for the second Test, while the uncapped Callum Ferguson has been added to the squad.

BDST: 1557 HRS, NOV 07, 2016
SR