Web desk: Noman Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi had the final say on Day 4 of the first test match between Pakistan and South Africa as the latter got bowled out for 183 runs and lost the match by 93 runs.
It was always going to be a daunting task for the African batting lineup chasing 277 runs, a feat that had never been achieved at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Although Pakistani fast bowlers didn’t bowl many overs in the first innings and all of the South African wickets fell to spin, Shan Masood decided to start Day 4 by throwing the ball to Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Shaheen had an immediate impact on the match as he got the centurion from the 1st innings, Tony de Zorzi, out leg before on the 3rd ball of the day. The new spin magician, Noman Ali, got Stubbs out a couple of overs later and derailed South Africa’s chances of having a crack at the target.
Brevis, nicknamed Baby AB, took the attack to the spinners and scored a run-a-ball fifty, and once he was there, South Africans could dream about pulling off this daunting task.
England’s Jamie Smith had played a similar role in the 3rd match against Pakistan, scoring 89 runs and hitting Pakistani spinners all over the park.
Pakistani spinners were under the pump for a brief period against Brevis, but Noman didn’t fear pitching the ball up and bowled the ball of the match to get him out.
It was a left-arm spinner’s dream delivery, pitching on leg and hitting the top of off. With Brewis’s departure, South Africa’s chances of winning took a major hit. Noman’s spin partner, Sajid, also bowled much better in the second innings and got the prized wicket of Rickelton, which broke South Africa’s back.
Shaheen Shah Afridi came back for a second spell and cleaned up the tail with some outstanding reverse swing bowling.
His ball to get Subrayen out was reminiscent of Wasim Akram in his prime and heyday. In the end, Pakistan marched to a comfortable victory by 93 runs.
As predicted in my article before the start of the match, Pakistan were always going to be the favourites against South Africa in home conditions, and they showed that on the field.
It was a much-needed victory for the team and fans alike, who were reeling from the heartbreak of the loss in the Asia Cup final against India.
But the job is half done. Pakistan cannot afford to repeat what they did in their last test series against the West Indies, where they lost the 2nd test match despite reducing the opposition to 54 for 8 in the first innings.
Lack of consistency has been Pakistan’s biggest problem lately, and Shan Masood didn’t shy away from it. He admitted this in the press conference today, saying, “The message is this — we are playing good cricket against quality opposition. But at the same time, the challenge is that we need to consistently perform and win matches against top teams.”
Pakistan has gotten a significant boost from this victory and must build on this and close out the series by winning the next match. They have a settled batting lineup, and their spinners are firing on all cylinders.
Meanwhile, South African batsmen are prone to spin bowling, and they will face a similar test to this in the next match at Rawalpindi.
Pakistan must also realise that there are bigger things at stake, and at the top of the list is the World Test Championship.
This victory has propelled them to 2nd place in the points table, and they must now aim for a win in the second match, which will give them an early advantage in the current World Test Championship cycle.
