In a thrilling SA vs PAK 1st Test being played at the Super Sport Park in Centurion, South Africa were able to register a two-wicket win over Pakistan. South African captain Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram played important roles with the bat in chasing down 148 runs. Pakistani pacer Mohammad Abbas who was playing a Test match after a long gap of three years, picked up six wickets in the second innings and nearly won his team the match. Temba Bavuma and Co also qualified for the final of the World Test Championship 2023-25.
South Africa Qualify For WTC Finals
Batting first, Pakistan were wrapped up for a low first innings score of 211 runs courtesy of a five-wicket haul from Dane Peterson and four-fer from Corbin Bosch. Pakistani batter Kamran Ghulam top scored with an innings of 54 runs from 71 balls which included eight fours and one six. On the other hand, big names including Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan failed to rise up to the occasion and got dismissed for 4 and 27 runs respectively. Skipper Shan Masood even couldn’t score runs with the bat and departed after 17 runs from 54 balls.
In reply, South Africa showcased a decent batting approach courtesy of an 89-run knock from opener Aiden Makram. Corbin Bosch remained unbeaten on 81 runs from 93 balls and played an important role in helping the Proteas get a decent first innings lead. Naseem Shah and Khurram Shahzad picked up three-wickets apiece with the ball for Pakistan. South Africa got all-out for 301 runs in their first innings.
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Pakistan showcased even a terrible batting performance in their second innings and no other batter apart from Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel could get runs. In the end, Pakistan got wrapped up for 237 runs in their second innings and Marco Jansen picked up six wickets with the ball. Chasing down the target, the Proteas were under pressure at some time but key knocks from Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram helped their team cross the line.
