As the first test match between Pakistan and South Africa has offically concluded, this was an outcome no one was expecting despite the Proteas’s struggles in red-ball cricket in Asia countries. Seeing that the home side was able to pick up a key victory, Pakistan are now officially 1-0 in the World Test Championship rankings, while exhibiting much better performances with bowling.
Despite Pakistan seeing their batsmen still struggle a ton here and there, this is a massive victory for them as it gives them boosted confidence heading into the 2nd match. Captain Shan Masood really showed his dominance in leading this side and had some tremendous field placement throughout the series in order to help his team move forward.
Meanwhile, South Africa are now 0-1 after being the defending WTC Champions and will need to come back with much better fight in that 2nd test. A group that wasn’t at full strength with key bowlers like Marco Jansen and Lungi Ngidi missing, while their main leader named Temba Bavuma, was also ruled out, it is a great learning experience for their younger pieces who will have to take over during future times.
Seeing that they clearly struggled with the bat this series, there will need to be some massive changes coming in, so they can win by a convincing amount, as their 10-match win streak in Pakistan has ended. Aiden Markram did seem like a solid captain throughout, but he didn’t provide the same fire that Bavuma would, if he were there.
Pakistan: Very Up-And-Down Series For Their Batsmen Who Seemed To Still Struggle
Looking at Pakistan’s batsmen through this series, they did seem like an issue because there were several times they would lose wickets in bunches and put themselves in holes. Opener Abdullah Shafique finished with 43 runs during both his innings as the right-hander couldn’t provide the prowess many people were hoping for.
Opposite him, though, Iman-Ul-Haq had a very strong first innings that took him to a near century, but consistency was the issue as he was removed in two balls during their 2nd outing. Knowing that captain Shan Masood was a massive part of why Pakistan scored 378 runs during their first innings, he had only produced 7 runs to go with his half-century during his 2nd one and was a key reason why they finished at 167 all-out later on.
Babar Azam has continued not being in great touch during test matches as this is someone who could barely get a jump in Pakistan’s first chance to bat by scoring 23, although he did hit four boundaries all around the ground. When the rest of the order was struggling as Pakistan were completely out of it during the 2nd innings, he did do a little better by scoring 42, but was also not hitting with the same class.
Talking about Saud Shakeel, he had just touched 38 runs in both innings, combined, while this side did get a star-studded performance from Mohammed Rizwan in their first time batting. Struggling during the second time, him and Salman Ali Agha, who followed up a 93-knock with 4 runs, continued showing this batting side’s inconsistencies.
South Africa: This Was A Place Where Spinners Really Dominated And Took Multiple Wickets
With South Africa having been forced to bowl first both times, it was clear that their spinning options put them into this game, as the pacers kind of had harder times. Knowing Pakistan’s conditions are more favorable to spinners, this was a clear plan for the Proteas to follow, as Senuran Muthuswamy was an absolute game-changer. Taking 11 wickets during both innings, the way he turned in the ball made it impossible for any batsmen to take him on, while bowling from the left side was a clear mismatch to all the other right-handed batsmen.
Known for having that consistent surprise element, he has almost turned himself into a mystery option that most people might be way too overconfident in attacking and get completely fooled. Having allowed an economy much lower than 3.5, he has been a real key component in limiting runs, when many fast bowlers found it quite difficult to manage. The other major spinning option was Simon Harmer, as this was someone who matched Muthuswamy’s prowess from the right end.
Taking four wickets during the 2nd innings himself, he had added to his one when in the first innings. As Prenelan Subrayen also showed up big time during periods, Kagiso Rabada was the only pacer who showed up with his two key wickets. Their other option was Wiaan Mulder, as this was someone leaking over 6 an over, while they didn’t end up going to any other part-time options.
South Africa: Both Innings Were A Really Tough Watch For This Side
Seeing the way South Africa batted in this match, it was a real nightmare since none of their batsmen could get anything going. The one exception was Ryan Rickleton, as he did have a 70+ run knock and followed it with one that went for 45 when chasing down 277 to win.
On the other end, Aiden Markram was able to be stable at all, as he scored just 20 runs during his first innings, while barely spending any time on the crease after being removed at 3. Another big piece that had a very suprisingly bad series was Wiaan Mulder, as the one-down rising star was only able to score 23 during two innings and seemed like these pitches weren’t really built for his style.
Although Tony De Zorzi was able to make the match much closer with a century during South Africa’s first time batting, him getting out at 17 during the second was a real stressful point because he was the piece that could only build a big innings. As Tristan Stubbs has shown that he can’t be relied on much in this format after scoring just 10 during the whole series, he will need to either move down the order or be dropped for that second match.
One big thing was Dewald Brevis hitting another half-century during the 2nd innings after having one against Zimbabwe a couple of months back, but not being able to create anything with Kyle Verreynne again led them to an extremely rough patch. Closing it out, Senuran Muthuswamy was another all-rounder who couldn’t produce with the bat either.
Pakistan: Noman Ali & Bajid Khan Win Match And Create Drama
The main reason Pakistan were able to win this match and dominate throughout was because of their ability to defend very well. Sajid Khan was able to finish that 2nd innings of South Africa with two vital wickets of Ryan Rickleton and Senuran Muthuswamy, as he continued being a key piece from the left side.
With Noman Ali being the major key for this unit after getting nearly 50 overs of work, he was able to pick up 10 wickets, while breaking some of the biggest partnerships this Proteas unit put together. For fast-bowling, the one key piece that made a real impact was Shaheen Afridi, as he took 4 wickets and was important in helping Pakistan win by 93 runs.
Also Read: ICC WTC 2023-25: Aiden Markram’s 136 Runs Power South Africa To WTC Triumph