1st Test
Day-2 Evening Session Highlights:
Corbin Bosch’s batting brilliance and timely wickets has put the South Africa team in control
At The Stumps of Day-2:
Pakistan scored 211 (1st Innings) & 88/3 (2nd Innings), where as South Africa scored 301 (1st Innings).
Pakistan trail by 2 runs.
The opening Test continued to tilt in South Africa’s favour as Aiden Markram’s 89 and debutant Corbin Bosch’s unbeaten 81 helped the hosts reach 301, giving them a 90-run lead at the innings break.
Despite a solid 49-run opening stand between Saim Ayub and Shan Masood, South Africa’s bowlers struck late in the day, reducing Pakistan to 88 for 3, leaving them just two runs behind at Stumps in Centurion.
Pakistan started their chase aggressively, with Ayub hitting a couple of boundaries off Kagiso Rabada and Bosch’s first over, before Masood added a streaky four.
The visitors had raced to 48 in 10 overs, but Rabada finally got the breakthrough, dismissing Ayub with a delivery that destroyed his off-stump after Ayub played a booming drive.
Dane Paterson, brought on as first change, tested Babar Azam with some well-placed deliveries, but the out-of-form Azam was lucky, with edges falling short of the slip cordon.
However, Masood was dismissed when he poked an outside-off delivery from Marco Jansen straight to third slip, leaving Pakistan two wickets down, still 20 runs behind.
Pakistan’s woes continued as Kamran Ghulam edged one to gully.
Saud Shakeel, showing intent, managed to reduce the deficit by striking two boundaries before bad light halted play late in the day.
Before these crucial breakthroughs, Bosch’s vital knock and Markram’s solid 89 had helped South Africa past the 300 mark.
Bosch’s debut was noteworthy as he started with two boundaries off Khurram Shahzad and then counter-attacked Naseem Shah, guiding a streaky boundary to third man.
He reached his half-century, becoming the first South African debutant to notch both a four-wicket haul and a 50-plus score in a Test.
In the first hour of play, Pakistan struggled with their line and length, allowing Markram and Temba Bavuma to capitalize.
A productive spell saw the South Africans regularly finding the boundary, especially off full deliveries from Naseem and Mohammad Abbas.
Aamer Jamal’s first-change spell lacked pace, and he struggled to trouble the batsmen before getting Bavuma to nick behind for 31.
David Bedingham found the fence with ease, even as Naseem and Shahzad bowled tightly, but against the run of play, he played a loose shot just before Lunch and was dismissed, nicking it to first slip.
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