South Africa on top as Pakistan lose three second-innings wickets

Published December 28, 2024 Updated December 28, 2024 08:51am
SOUTH AFRICA’S Corbin Bosch bats during the first Test against Pakistan at the SuperSport Park on Friday.—AFP
SOUTH AFRICA’S Corbin Bosch bats during the first Test against Pakistan at the SuperSport Park on Friday.—AFP

CENTURION: Fast bowler Corbin Bosch continued his strong debut with a record-breaking half century and left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen claimed two late wickets to give South Africa the upper hand on the second day of the first Test against Pakistan at SuperSport Park on Friday.

Bosch’s unbeaten 81 off 93 balls — the highest by a No 9 batter on his Test debut — earned South Africa a meaningful 90-run first innings lead as the home team got bowled out for 301 and the bowlers made it count by taking three wickets before Pakistan could wipe out the deficit.

Jansen took 2-17 as Pakistan reached 88-3 in their second innings — still two runs behind — when bad light brought a premature end, with Babar Azam not out on 16 and Saud Shakeel on eight.

South Africa would qualify for next year’s World Test Champ­ionship final for the first time with a victory in either match of this two-Test series.

The contest was evenly poised when opening batsman Aiden Markram was eighth man out for 89 with South Africa on 213 for eight — just two runs ahead of Pakistan’s first innings total of 211.

Four South African wickets had fallen for 35 runs either side of lunch, with Naseem Shah taking three in a fiery spell, and it seemed probable the sides would start the second innings almost on level terms.

But Bosch, who has a first-class batting average above 40, batted with freedom and a wide variety of strokes as he shared stands of 41 with Kagiso Rabada (13) and 47 with Dane Paterson (12) to turn a narrow lead into a substantial one.

“It happens sometimes in Test cricket that the lower-order batters score some runs,” Naseem told reporters after stumps. “Since he [Bosch] is an all-rounder, he played well and it was frustrating because you don’t expect the last-wicket partnership to carry on for that long. But as a bowler one can only try to bowl in the right areas.

“It’s not easy to adjust in unfamiliar conditions, you’ve to bowl with discipline and try to adjust as soon as possible,” added Naseem, who bowled a marathon 10-over spell after initially struggling with his lengths in the first session. “The team needed me at that time and when the captain asks you to bowl, you have to be ready and that’s my habit as a fast bowler.”

After the home team resumed on 82-3, Pakistan hit back with two wickets in the latter half of the first session with captain Temba Bavuma (31) and David Bedin­gham (30) both edging behind the wickets.

PAKISTAN captain Shan Masood plays a defensive shot.—AFP
PAKISTAN captain Shan Masood plays a defensive shot.—AFP

Markram completed his half century with an exquisite cover driven boundary off Naseem and stretched the fourth-wicket stand to 70 runs with Bavuma before Pakistan got their first breakthrough.

Aamer Jamal was rewarded for his persistent length balls to Bavuma as the South African skipper finally got a thick outside edge while going for a loose drive.

Bedingham counterattacked from the onset, smashing five boundaries in his 33-ball knock and also survived when Pakistan unsuccessfully went for an lbw television review against Nase­em’s full pitched delivery, which television replays suggested would have missed the leg stump.

However, Naseem, who finished with figures of 3-92, didn’t have to wait long as Bedingham was beaten by some extra bounce and nicked it in the first slip in the penultimate over before lunch.

Naseem then had Kyle Verreynne and Jansen out cheaply at the start of the second session and South Africa seemed to have lost their grip when Markram, who had played a patient role as he headed towards a Test century, inexplicably chased a short-pitched delivery from Khurram Shahzad and gloved the ball to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan.

But Bosch batted like a seasoned batter on his home ground to the frustration of Pakistan’s bowlers and add to his opening day heroics when he took 4-63 and became the 25th cricketer to take a wicket with his first Test delivery.

Bosch bossed the all-out Pakistan pace attack by hitting 15 boundaries, including some meticulous cover drives and pull shots. The lead was 43 when Rabada skied Aamer’s short ball to Babar at short mid-wicket.

Bosch looked stranded on 46 when joined at the crease by Paterson but swatted a ball in the next over to the boundary to bring up his fifty and kept going with a batting master class.

Paterson also showed his batting skills with a straight six off Mohammad Abbas, who is making a Test comeback after more than three years. Bosch looked set for a memorable hundred but Paterson’s patience ran out and he skied part-time spinner Saim Ayub for Khurram to take a brilliant running catch over his shoulders at mid-off and end the innings.

Bosch, whose Test cricketer father Tertius died when Corbin was five years old, was low on the list of potential Test fast bowlers at the start of the season.

But a lengthy list of injuries to bigger-name players, as well as good recent form, opened the door for him.

Bosch shared the new ball with Kagiso Rabada at the start of Pakistan’s second innings but did not take a wicket and left the field at the end of a three-over stint.

Pakistan openers Saim and captain Shan Masood, who both made 28, had batted briskly to halve the home side’s sizeable advantage in a determined fight back but three wickets in the last hour swung the advantage back South Africa’s way.

Rabada, who bowled splendidly in the first innings without getting a wicket, knocked back Saim’s off stump and Jansen followed up by having Shan caught at third slip and first innings top-scorer Kamran Ghulam caught at gully before bad light stopped play.

SCOREBOARD

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 211

SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings, overnight 82-3):

A. Markram c Rizwan b Khurram 89

T. de Zorzi b Khurram 2

R. Rickelton c Rizwan b Khurram 8

T. Stubbs lbw Abbas 9

T. Bavuma c Rizwan b Aamir 31

D. Bedingham c Kamran b Naseem 30

K. Verreynne c Salman b Naseem 2

M. Jansen c Rizwan b Naseem 2

C. Bosch not out 81

K. Rabada c Babar b Aamir 13

D. Paterson c Khurram b Saim 12

EXTRAS (B-10, LB-6, NB-5, W-1) 22

TOTAL (all out, 73.4 overs) 301

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-7 (de Zorzi), 2-24 (Rickelton), 3-66 (Stubbs), 4-136 (Bavuma), 5-178 (Bedingham), 6-188 (Verreynne), 7-191 (Jansen), 8-213 (Markram), 9-254 (Rabada)

BOWLING: Khurram 20-1-75-3, Abbas 21-4-79-1 (2nb), Naseem 22-1-92-3 (3nb), Aamir 8-1-36-2 (1w), Saim 2.4-0-3-1

PAKISTAN (2nd Innings):

Saim Ayub b Rabada 27

Shan Masood c Stubbs b Jansen 28

Babar Azam not out 16

Kamran Ghulam c Rickelton b Jansen 4

Saud Shakeel not out 8

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-3, NB-1) 5

TOTAL (for three wickets, 22 overs) 88

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-49 (Saim), 2-70 (Shan), 3-74 (Kamran)

STILL TO BAT: Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas

BOWLING: Rabada 7-1-30-1 (1nb), Bosch 3-0-18-0, Paterson 8-2-19-0, Jansen 4-0-17-

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024

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