South Africa took complete control of the second test, reducing Pakistan to 64 for three at stumps on day two at World Sports Betting Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon.
Kagiso Rabada (6-2-9-2) made the initial breakthrough at the end of the first over, having Pakistan captain Shan Masood caught at first slip by David Bedingham for just two.
Marco Jansen (5-2-14-1) then had Kamran Ghulam playing on to his stumps for 12 before Rabada and Bedingham combined again to see the back of Saud Shakeel for a six-ball duck to leave Pakistan 20 for three.
Babar Azam (31 not out) and Mohammad Rizwan (9 not out) dug in with an unbeaten stand of 44 for the fourth wicket but the early strikes left the visitors with a 551-run mountain to climb on day three with just seven first innings wickets in the bank.
Kwena Maphaka, making his debut, bowled well at first change, ending the day with 0-12 in three overs while Wiaan Mulder struggled with his run-up, conceding six no-balls in his five overs, conceding 25 runs.
Kwena Maphaka has some serious gas 👀🚀
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Keshav Maharaj bowled two overs, keeping the batsmen honest.
“For us it is about staying nice and patient. We saw that if you stay in the channel for long periods of time and don’t give them runs, a loose shot is around the corner – that it just going to be the plan for however long we are out there,” said Proteas wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne at the press conference at the end of the day’s play.
SA RACK UP MAMMOTH TOTAL
South Africa had been bowled out for 615 just short of an hour after the tea-break.
The hosts went to tea on the second day on 566 for seven with Jansen at the crease on a blistering 57 and Maharaj on two.
Jansen fell shortly after the resumption of play, adding just five runs to his tea-time total, getting a leading edge from Mir Hamza (30-3-127-2) to be caught in the covers by Babar for 62, which came from 54 balls, including eight fours and three sixes.
Maharaj (40) struck four boundaries and two maximums from 35 balls to push the home side’s total beyond the 600-run mark, but once he edged through to Rizwan behind the stumps off Khurram Shahzad (25-4-123-2), the innings was over bar the shouting.
Rabada ended unbeaten on six while Maphaka lasted just two deliveries before being cleaned-up by Mohammad Abbas (27.3-1-94-3).
South Africa had won the toss on the first morning, electing to bat first and found themselves in a slight bother.
Pakistan won the opening session, leaving the Proteas on 72 for three with Ryan Rickelton standing firm on an unbeaten 50.
Rickelton and Aiden Markram gave the home side a steady start with an opening stand of 61 but then Markram edged Khurram Shahzad (21-3-90-1) behind to Rizwan for 17 before Wiaan Mulder (5) and Tristan Stubbs (0) edged Abbas and Agha (25-2-77-2) behind to Rizwan respectively.
Despite the setback, Rickelton was joined at the crease post lunch by Temba Bavuma and the pair completely dominated the first day’s play, adding 235 for the fourth wicket – the highest stand for the fourth wicket at Newlands, a record that had stood since 1938/39 when Wally Hammond and Les Ames added 197 for England.
Bavuma’s 106 came from 179 deliveries and included nine boundaries and two maximums which resulted in a passionate celebration in the middle.
Agha though got reward for his patience outside the offstump, when Bavuma played at a ball that went straight on, edging through to Rizwan behind the stumps.
Bedingham and Rickelton played out the last few overs of the first day, adding nine unbeaten runs at the close.
DOUBLE TON FOR RICKELTON
Rickelton had begun the morning on 176, and moved to his double-ton off 266 balls – the fourth-fastest for South Africa.
2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐑𝐘𝐀𝐍 𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐓𝐎𝐍
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It's the first 𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐎𝐍 of 2025! 🥹🇿🇦
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He and Verreynne, pummelled the Pakistan bowling after the early loss of Bedingham for just five, edging Abbas to Rizwan behind the stumps.
“I was there when he got his (Rickelton) maiden test hundred and I saw how much that meant to him. It is really nice batting with him out there and I thought that he would be really tired considering he batted all day yesterday and when I walked out to bat he was just so calm, it was like he could do this for ages,” said Verreynne.
Verreynne survived two leg-before appeals despite Pakistan reviewing and brought up their 100-run stand in 101 minutes just before the lunch break as South Africa went to lunch on 429 for five.
“I wasn’t too sure how to go about it, be a bit more aggressive or just to bat normally, but the calmness he brought to that partnership was really good,” added Verreynne about the 6th-wicket stand.
South Africa really cashed in on some tired Pakistan bowling during the midday session, going to tea on 566 for seven.
Rickelton, who began the day on 176, eventually gave way for a magnificent 259 while Kylle Verreynne sped his way to 100 while Jansen bludgeoned his way to a third test half-century.
Ryan Rickelton becomes the 10th @ProteasMenCSA player to reach 250* in a Test match 🥹⭐
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The Pakistan bowling attack toiled through two tough sessions as the home side added 113 runs to their overnight total of 316 for four and then added a further 137 runs in the post-lunch session.
VERREYNNE JOINS RUN FEST
Rickelton had been the anchor through the day as Verreynne crunched nine fours and five sixes in a 147-ball innings that enabled the pair to add 148 runs for the sixth wicket.
However, once Verreynne moved to his ton, he slog-swept Salman Agha (36-4-129-3) out towards the deep mid-wicket fence, only to find Amir Jamal’s safe hands.
𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐓 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 👑⭐
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) January 4, 2025
Kyle Verreynne takes a bow as he gets a Test ton 🤩🇿🇦
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“At lunchtime when I was on 70-odd, you get the feeling that you might get there and this is the first time my mom has been here to watch me so I started feeling a bit emotional. That’s probably why I got out just after getting there cause I was just so emotionally drained,” said Verreynne on getting his ton.
“I don’t care if I get out – it’s just about trying to score runs and that has freed me up quite nicely,” said Verreynne on his batting attitude.
The loss of Verreynne only brought more pain to the Pakistan effort as Jansen crashed seven boundaries and three maximums from 49 balls to go to tea on an unbeaten 57, adding a quick-fire 86 for the seventh wicket from only 67 balls with Rickelton.
But Rickelton, looking to accelerate the innings before tea, eventually holed out to Mohammad Abbas at long-on from the bowling of Mir Hamza (27-3-104-1) after spending 615 minutes at the crease, striking 29 boundaries and three sixes after facing 343 balls.
SOUTH AFRICA: Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka.
PAKISTAN: Shan Masood (capt), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Mohammad Abbas, Mir Hamza, Khurram Shahzad.