Australia to win, Labuschagne 100-plus not out': David Warner's 3rd Test Day 5 prediction goes horribly wrong as South Africa on the verge of series win

Australia to win, Labuschagne 100-plus not out': David Warner's 3rd Test Day 5 prediction goes horribly wrong as South Africa on the verge of series win originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.KEY TAKEAWAYS:David Warner predicted an Australia win with Marnus Labuschagne unbeaten on a hundred.Labuschagne was out lbw to Kagiso Rabada for four in the first over of the chase.Australia were 60 for 7 at lunch as South Africa neared a series win.David Warner's final-day prediction at NewlandsAustralia began the final day at Newlands needing 288 to win the Test and the series on a surface that had held up for four days. David Warner liked their chances enough to put a number on it in an Instagram video posted before play."Flat wicket, getting lower, a little bit slow, and it's turning a fair bit. What are your predictions? Comment below," he posted on Instagram. "For me, Australia victory, and this whole thing sets up for Marnus Labuschagne to be 100-odd not out at the end, and Australia win seven down."The reading of the pitch was not unreasonable. Ryan Rickelton and Wiaan Mulder had both made centuries on it the previous day, Nathan Lyon had found considerable turn without running through anyone, and 288 on a fifth-day Newlands track looked gettable rather than fanciful.View this post on InstagramA post shared by David Warner (@davidwarner31)MORE: 'Rolls-Royce of bowling': Rabada hailed for completing 350 Test wicketsRabada ended it in the first overKagiso Rabada had Matt Renshaw caught behind off the third ball of the innings. Three balls later Labuschagne was trapped lbw for four, the review confirming it, and the part of Warner's prediction that involved him making a hundred was finished before the first over.It was Labuschagne's second failure of the match. He had made nought in the first innings, caught at slip by Aiden Markram off Simon Harmer, and his dismissal here left Australia two down inside six deliveries with 288 still to get.Rabada removed Travis Head for 14 in his fourth over to reach 350 Test wickets, and Harmer did the rest from the other end. By lunch Australia were 60 for 7, Rabada with three for 14 and Harmer with three for 5, and the match was over as a contest well before it was over as a result.South Africa took the series 2-1, having lost the opener in Durban by 214 runs and then won in Gqeberha by an innings. The victory also carries them to the top of the Test rankings.MORE: ‘Great career, Marnus, but it’s the end’: Ex-AUS stars pick top 7 for NZ seriesDavid Warner backed the wrong batterPredicting an Australia win was defensible. Predicting that Labuschagne would be the man to deliver it was the part that required ignoring the previous three weeks, in which he had passed 40 once in six innings and been dropped from the conversation about Australia's home summer.The wider call was wrong for a simpler reason, which is that Warner read the pitch and not the bowlers. Newlands offered nothing for four days, and then Rabada and Harmer took seven wickets before lunch on the fifth, because a surface being flat has never been much protection against a bowler at the peak of his powers with a new ball.For all the latest cricket news, opinion, and commentary, and to share your voice, head to our Facebook, Instagram, and X (Twitter) pages.