Mohammad Abbas Remains Not-Out, Kamran Ghulam’s 54 the Highest Score
South African pacers wreaked havoc, dismissing Pakistan for just 211 runs in the first innings of the Test match at SuperSport Park, Centurion.
In response, when South Africa began their innings, Pakistan made an early breakthrough. Khurram Shahzad dismissed opener Tony de Zorzi in the third over.
After Zorzi’s dismissal, Ryan Rickelton partnered with opener Aiden Markram. Shahzad struck again, sending Rickelton back to the pavilion after adding just 8 runs to the scoreboard.
Earlier, South Africa’s Dane Paterson took five wickets, with Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen also making significant contributions by dismissing four and one batter respectively.
Pakistan’s opener Saim Ayub was dismissed for 14, followed by Babar Azam at 4. Shan Masood and Saud Shakeel fell for 17 and 14 respectively.
Kamran Ghulam top-scored with 54 runs, but after his dismissal, Pakistan’s troubles deepened with wickets falling of Mohammad Rizwan (27), Salman Ali Agha (18), and Aamer Jamal (28).
In the end, Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Abbas managed to take the team past 200 runs. However, Jansen broke their partnership by dismissing Khurram, ending Pakistan’s innings.
After winning the toss, South Africa chose to bowl first, aiming to secure a win to keep their hopes alive for a place in next year’s World Test Championship final.
Pakistan fielded an all-pace attack, including Mohammad Abbas, Aamer Jamal, Naseem Shah, and Khurram Shahzad, opting against selecting a specialist spinner.
Babar Azam returned to the side after being dropped for the last two Tests against England, alongside Saim Ayub, who scored two centuries during Pakistan’s recent One Day International series victory over South Africa.
