South Africa have now became the first team to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord's next year after they defeated Pakistan by two wickets in a thrilling first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion. The Proteas got across the finishing line not before they had a mini heart-attack while chasing a target of 148 runs as fast bowler Mohammad Abbas ignited a ray of hope for Pakistan with his six-wicket haul in the second innings.
Trailing by 90 runs in the first innings, Pakistan were bowled out for 237 runs in the second innings, giving South Africa a target of 148 runs to chase. Saud Shakeel top scored with 84(113) runs hitting 10 fours and a maximum, while Babar Azam also scored a Test fifty after two years, getting out on 50(85) runs. For South Africa, Marco Jansen registered figures of 6/52, while Kagiso Rabada took two, while Corbin Bosch and Dane Paterson scalped a wicket each.
Kagiso Rabada-Marco Jansen came as saviours after Pakistan got early breakthroughs
Chasing the winning target, South Africa had a poor start as they lost three wickets for just 19 runs. After that, Aiden Markram and Tamba Bavuma made a recovery by adding 43 runs for the fourth wicket. Markram got out after scoring 37(63) runs, while Bavuma top scored with 40(78) runs. However, Pakistani bowlers struck again as the Proteas kept losing at regular intervals.
South Africa were reduced to 99/8 at one stage with Mohammas Abbas taking a six-wicket haul, while Khurran Shahzad and Naseem Shah also scalped a wicket each. After that, Kagiso Rabada (31* off 26) and Marco Jansen (16* off 24) turned out to be saviours for the Proteas with the bat. The duo added unbeaten 51 runs for the ninth wicket as South Africa chased the target in the second session of day four to take a lead of 1-0 in a two-match series. With this, South Africa also entered the final of the third edition of the World Test Championship (WTC).
