Pakistan 211 and 88 for 3 (Babar 16*, Jansen 2-17) trail South Africa 301 (Markram 89, Bosch 81*, Shahzad 3-75, Naseem 3-92) by two points
Both sets of hitters will remember with some anger how they were dismissed. South Africa’s middle order has questions over ordinary shot selection while Pakistan, apart from their first innings collapse, now face signs of variable bounce as they search to build a target he can defend. Among these broader tales was the joy of Bosch who finished undefeated with 81 runs and was handed the new ball in the second innings of a match where he had a Midas touch.
South Africa were only leading by two at that point and Pakistan had a chance to maintain a balance, but they were dismantled by Bosch for the second day in a row. He was aggressive up front and back and had a disciplined partner in Rabada, who pulled off one of the most eye-catching coverage moves of the game.
When Aamer Jamal was called back half an hour before tea, Rabada’s patience ran out. He crossed the line and sent the ball through the air towards the non-striker. Babar Azam took a good catch at mid-wicket, looking towards the sun to end what was becoming a frustrating partnership for Pakistan.
Bosch continued to make his mark and reached fifty thanks to a superb cover. This is the second-fastest fifty by a South African on debut. Then Paterson swung and scored four runs off Jamal and six when he hit Abbas at long-off. Desperate to end the lower-order resistance, Naseem was brought back after a brief break and bowled four more overs, but could not break through. Instead, it was Ayub’s part-time spin, the only spinner used in the match so far, that did the trick. Paterson tried to throw it out of the ground, but he skied it to halfway, where Shahzad ran in circles before taking the ball.
South Africa started poorly with the ball in the second innings. Rabada and Bosch shared the new ball, but both were too short and too wide in their opening periods. Ayub and Shan Masood bowled aggressively and reached 41 in the first seven overs before Temba Bavuma brought Paterson to Bosch’s side.
His first two overs cost five runs and brought some semblance of pressure, which Rabada needed to get back to his best. In his sixth over, he produced an absolute jaffa off a length and a pinch. Ayub couldn’t get behind the line of the ball as he curved to hit the top of off stump. Rabada finished a seven-over period with figures of 1 for 31.
Jansen replaced him and immediately looked a threat with the rebounding he generated. Masood negotiated his first over, but when Jansen found even more lift in the second, he hung his bat and closed in on Tristan Stubbs at third slip. In Jansen’s next over, Kamran Ghulam, who scored 54 in the first innings, edged Ryan Rickelton into the gully. This catch had to be looked at several times, but Rickelton appeared to have his fingers under the ball and Ghulam’s short stay was over.
Saud Shakeel enjoyed free bowling towards the end of the day and hit two permitted boundaries before poor light caused play to end early.
