Resuming the penultimate day at 23 for 4, Pakistan’s hopes rested on Babar Azam, who completed his half-century early in the morning to the delight of the home crowd.
Photo:IANS
South Africa produced a clinical all-round display to crush Pakistan by eight wickets and level the two-match Test series in Rawalpindi on Wednesday. Spinners Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer dismantled the hosts with combined match figures of 17 for 261 before openers Aiden Markram and Ryan Rickelton guided the World Test Champions to a comfortable chase of 68.
Resuming the penultimate day at 23 for 4, Pakistan’s hopes rested on Babar Azam, who completed his half-century early in the morning to the delight of the home crowd. However, the joy was short-lived as Harmer trapped him LBW just three balls later, sparking a dramatic collapse. The offspinner soon completed his five-wicket haul when Mohammad Rizwan edged one onto his pads for a simple catch at short leg, and then dismissed Noman Ali to reach a personal milestone of 1000 First-Class wickets.
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The tail offered little resistance. Shaheen Afridi was run out for his third successive duck before Salman Ali Agha briefly counterattacked with a few sweeps and reverse sweeps. Maharaj ended that resistance, bowling Salman off an inside edge before turning one sharply past Sajid Khan’s forward stride to have him stumped and end the innings at 136.
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Chasing 68, South Africa made quick work of the modest target. Markram looked in complete control as he swept and reverse-swept Pakistan’s spinners to the boundary while Rickelton played the supporting role. Markram fell LBW while attempting another sweep, and Tristan Stubbs followed soon after, but Rickelton sealed the win in style with a towering six down the ground.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 333 & 138 (Babar Azam 50, Salman Agha 28; Simon Harmer 6-50, Keshav Maharaj 2-34) lost to South Africa 404 & 73/2 (Aiden Markram 42, Ryan Rickelton 25*; Noman Ali 2-40) by 8 wickets.
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