Centurion, December 26, 2024: South Africa ended the day at 82 for 3 in their first innings, trailing Pakistan’s total of 211 runs on the opening day of first test. At stumps, Aiden Markram was unbeaten on 47 runs, while Temba Bavuma remained not out on 4.
Earlier, Pakistan had been bowled out for 211 runs in their first innings. South Africa now requires 129 more runs to level the deficit, with 7 wickets remaining.
The match saw three early wickets fall for South Africa. Tristan Stubbs was dismissed for 9, Ryan Rickelton for 8, and Tony de Zorzi was out for just 2 runs.
For Pakistan, Khurram Shehzad claimed two wickets, while Mohammad Abbas took one.
South Africa, having won the toss, opted to bowl first, and their bowlers made full use of the conditions, preventing the Pakistani batters from posting a big total.
Pakistan’s innings began with captain Shan Masood and Saeem Ayub at the crease. However, Pakistan’s first wicket fell at 36 runs in 14.1 overs when Masood was dismissed for 17. The second wicket fell quickly at 40 runs, with Ayub going out for 14. A further addition of just 1 run saw Babar Azam dismissed for 4 runs.
South African bowlers continued to dominate as Pakistan’s fourth wicket fell at 56 runs. Saud Shakeel, who scored 14 runs, was the man dismissed.
At this point, Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Rizwan built a solid partnership, adding 81 runs for the fifth wicket. Kamran top-scored with 54 runs, taking the total to 137.
Kamran’s dismissal led to Rizwan falling for 27 runs, just 5 runs later.
Salman Ali Agha and Aamir Jamal then put up a resistance, forming a 47-run partnership off 53 balls for the seventh wicket. Their efforts took Pakistan’s total to 189 runs before Jamal (28) and Agha (18) were dismissed. Naseem Shah was out without scoring.
Pakistan’s tailenders, Khurram Shehzad and Mohammad Abbas, took the total to 211 runs with a partnership of 22 runs. Shehzad was the last man out, scoring 11, while Abbas remained unbeaten on 10 runs.
For South Africa, Dane Paterson took 5 wickets, Corbin Bosch claimed 4, and Marco Jansen took 1 wicket.
Earlier, South African captain Temba Bavuma opted to bowl first after winning the toss stating that their focus was on winning the series. He added, “We are focusing on winning this series.”
Pakistan’s captain Shan Masood said, “The conditions will be beneficial for seamers, and we are excited to tackle this challenge.”
It is worth noting that Pakistan’s tour of South Africa began with a T20 series, followed by a One Day series. Pakistan lost the T20 series 2-0 but won all three matches of the One Day series.
