South Africa 301 and 27 for 3 (Markram 22*, Abbas 2-3) need 121 more runs to be beaten Pakistan 211 and 237 (Shakeel 84, Babar 50, Jansen 6-52, Rabada 2-68)
The first Test match at Centurion is incredibly poised after Pakistan took three wickets in nine overs to leave South Africa reeling at 27 for 3, still 121 runs short of the 147-run target that seals a win, as well only one place in 2023. -25 World Test Championship [WTC] final.
Pakistan’s overhaul was chalk and cheese of the previous innings, successfully overturning two weight appeals. Shahzad found a similar seam move around the wicket to hit Ryan Rickleton on the front pad, viciously enough to hit him down the line despite the batter moving well.
After successfully turning this situation around, Pakistan repeated the formula, with Abbas finding the right line and adequate lateral movement, which brought him many successes. Tristan Stubbs stepped out of his territory but was beaten on the outside edge, and again Pakistan rallied collectively only to have the referee deny them. But Shan Masood beckoned upstairs once more and was proven right again.
Persistent rain saw the match begin an hour after the lunch break ended, and Pakistan began enjoying a bowling effort that was far from its best. Shakeel and Babar each put Kagiso Rabada away for four in the third, and the runs kept coming for the next half hour. Twenty-three runs were scored from the next three, and although Babar still found himself beaten on several occasions, he was also rediscovering the timing that, in the past, was so often the precursor to a big score.
Corbin Bosch found out when he missed his line twice and Babar helped himself to two fours, before a clip in the covers brought up his long-awaited half-century, his first in 20 innings . But he threw it away in disappointing fashion, failing to get the better of a short, wide shot from Jansen, with Bosch barely needing to move to send a devastated Babar on his way.
Jansen found wickets that eluded him in the first innings, with Rizwan and Salman Agha falling cheaply. A brief face-off between Shakeel and Aamer Jamal once again made Pakistan look like they were going to have six-run tea, before Jamal bowled a tame bouncer from Dane Paterson straight to deep mid-wicket, and Naseem Shah usefully hits Rabada in the slips.
Shakeel attempted to cultivate the strike after tea and enjoyed some success as the wayward bowling allowed for the odd boundary and comfortable late singles. A royal pick-up for six over midwicket was the highlight, but Pakistan’s penchant for gifting wickets to deliveries that didn’t deserve them struck again when a knee-high full toss hit the pad before Shakeel and effectively concluded Pakistan’s batting effort.
That seemed to be the final nail in the coffin, but Pakistan’s bowlers ensured that South Africa did not sit quietly overnight.
Danyal Rasool is the Pakistan correspondent for PK Press Club. @Danny61000
