Gilchrist was in stupendous form, racing to his century off 91 deliveries and then adding a further 38 off the next 17 balls he faced before the innings closed when Makhaya Ntini trapped Glenn McGrath lbw for 2.

Five overs earlier Jason Gillespie had been caught by Jacques Kallis at slip off Paul Adams and such was Gilchrist’s dominance that while the last three batsmen scored only two runs between them, Australia put on 65 for their last three wickets.

He had one narrow escape when he was beaten by Adams’ flight, but he managed to get his back foot back into the crease fractionally before Mark Boucher took off the bails.

At the end of the innings, Gilchrist, who scored an unbeaten 204 at the Wanderers, had faced 108 balls for his runs, hitting 22 fours and two sixes.

Ntini finished with four for 93 while Adams claimed his 100th Test wicket in taking four for 102.

South Africa were left 15 overs to face before the close of play.

Gilchrist reached his 50 off 53 balls in the first over after tea as he and Shane Warne resumed their punishing seventh-wicket partnership. There was a half-chance for South Africa to break the stand when Warne thrashed Andrew Hall to point and Herschelle Gibbs, diving full-length, got a hand to it but could not hold the catch.

After Gilchrist had taken successive boundaries off Makhaya Ntini, Warne went to his 50 with a sliced four off Jacques Kallis and the Australian 300 came up two overs later as the Australians took 14 off Kallis.

The breakthrough was finally engineered by Paul Adams after partnership had produced 117. Warne top-edged a cut at Adams to Kallis at slip and the catch was well held as the fielder rode the catch falling backwards.

Warne had made 63 off 66 balls, hitting 10 fours and a six during his stay, and South Africa took another wicket, that of Brett Lee for a duck, caught at cover by Ashwell Prince off Kallis before Gilchrist eventually reached three figures.

His century arrived with a single off Kallis and he had faced just 91 balls at this stage, hitting 18 fours. At drinks Kallis was not out on exactly 100 while Jason Gillespie had still to score.

After South Africa had grabbed four wickets for 23 during the hour after lunch, the Australian vice-captain and the world’s best legspinner counterattacked with a seventh-wicket partnership that was worth 80 to Australia when the pair went in for tea.

And it was by no means a dogged stand as the pair scored at comfortably better than a run a minute as Makhaya Ntini tired and the batsmen finally worked out a way to cope with Paul Adams.

Gilchrist, who was coming off the back of his double century at the Wanderers, raised the Australian 200 with a straight drive off Ntini for four in a 51st over that produced 12 for the tourists.

Warne brought up the 50 partnership in just 33 minutes when he slogged Adams straight back over his head for four in the 54th over and in the left-arm spinner’s next over he went even bigger, hitting Adams high over midwicket and for handsome six to take Australia into the lead.

Dewald Pretorius eventually replaced Ntini at the Wynberg end, but was quickly hit out of the attack again, but only after a top-edged four high over the wicketkeeper had taken Warne to 2 000 runs in Test cricket. He reached the mark in his 100th Test.

South Africa then employed Jacques Kallis in tandem with Andrew Hall, and if the pair were unable to break the stand, they did at least keep Gilchrist quiet and he was forced to go to tea still one short of his 50. Warne, meanwhile, had moved to 39.

Left-arm spinner Paul Adams and Makhaya Ntini struck twice each as Australia, comfortably placed at 152 for two at lunch, slipped to 185 for six.

Ricky Ponting was the first to go in the afternoon session, cutting at Adams for Mark Boucher to hold a bottom edge. Ponting had taken his lunch score of 40 to 47 and the third wicket had gone down at 162.

For perhaps the first time in the series the wicket allowed South Africa to exert some pressure on the Australian batsmen. Steve Waugh clearly felt this as he tried a big shot against Adams and the outside edge dropped tantalisingly close to Herschelle Gibbs at backward point.

Adams had no need to be disappointed for very long. His next ball, pitched well up to the Australian captain, glanced off the pads onto the stumps to bowl Waugh for a duck at 188 for four.

Damien Martyn was then dropped before he had scored, a low edge to Boucher off Ntini in the 43rd over, but Ntini was more successful in his next over when Mark Waugh drove at him and the thick edge flew straight to Gibbs in the gully.

The younger Waugh, who made 25, was out at 176 for five and there was still more trouble ahead for Australia in Ntini’s next over when Martyn was pushed onto the back foot and played away from his body to provide Boucher with a catch that was taken this time.

Martyn made only 2 to ensure that Boucher’s earlier lapse was not costly and Australia had slipped to 185 for six, losing four wickets for 23 in less than seven overs.

At drinks, Adam Gilchrist was not out on 13 with Shane Warne on 4.

Justin Langer had been bowled by Makhaya Ntini for 37 in the fifth over of the day, but Matthew Hayden forged on with his irresistible form, following his four hundreds in four Tests against South African this summer by reaching 50 in the over after mid-morning drinks when hammered Jacques Kallis through the covers for his 10th boundary.

He was given a life on 56 when he slashed Andrew Hall to point and Herschelle Gibbs spilled the chance, but the miss was to prove less expensive than Kallis’ dropped catch at the Wanderers when Hayden was missed on 0 and went on to make 122.

Kallis was the bowler responsible for Hayden’s downfall in the 27th over of the innings when the left-hander top-edged a hook and Hall positioned himself nicely to take a steepling catch.

Hayden was out for 63 (including 12 fours) and Australia were 130 for two as Mark Waugh came out to joined Ricky Ponting who was again an impressive form, pulling Hall high over midwicket for the first six of the innings as he moved to 40 not out at the lunch break.

Waugh was unbeaten on 11, but he might have been out on 10 when he missed a Paul Adams full toss down the leg side, but the unsighted Mark Boucher was unable to take the ball cleanly and the stumping chance was not taken.

The touring team had scored 106 during the session for the loss of two wickets and were now 77 in arrears of South Africa.

Australia, and Langer in particular, had gone after Dewald Pretorius during the first eight overs of their innings on Friday and Langer picked up the pace again as soon as Australia resumed their innings on Saturday. Langer pulled the first ball of Pretorius’s first over wide of mid-on for four to set his side on their way again.

Matthew Hayden and Langer both took straight driven boundaries off Makhaya Ntini’s second over of the day, but Ntini had his revenge in his next over when Langer tried to pull a short delivery wide of off stump and dragged the ball onto his stumps.

He was dismissed for 37 scored off 34 balls and had hit seven boundaries during his 65 minutes at the crease. The first Australian wicket had fallen at 67.

With Ricky Ponting now at the crease, Hayden helped himself to a couple of boundaries uppercut high over the slip cordon and the left-hander was fortunate on 37 when a Chinese cut off Ntini slithered past his leg stump.

Ponting brought up the Australian 100 when he leaned back to cut Ntini for four and at drinks he was on 22 with Hayden two short of his half-century.