Fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen turned batting heroes on Sunday as South Africa edged Pakistan by two wickets to win a thrilling first Test at Centurion and book themselves a place in next year’s World Test Championship final. Kagiso Rabada scored 31 and Jansen 16 in an unbeaten partnership of 51 off 50 balls to see South Africa over the line and deny Pakistan a dramatic comeback victory after Mohammed Abbas took six wickets as he shredded through the home batting order.
The Test had a finish more like that of a Twenty20 match as the tailenders delivered success after South Africa had slumped dramatically before lunch and seen Pakistan on the verge of success. Kagiso Rabada, who is ranked second best test bowler, emerged, however, as an unlikely batting hero while Jansen delivered the winning runs with a classy drive to the boundary.
Pakistan were beaten by South Africa in the Boxing Day Test at SuperSport Park, Centurion on Day 4. The home team was rocked as they lost five wickets for mere 37 runs. The unexpected collapse was largely due to Mohammad Abbas’s brilliant bowling. SA, who were 99/8, got to the target as Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen added an unbeaten 51 runs. However, Abbas was the biggest positive for Pakistan. He finished with 6/54.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : We should get a good amount of cricket today, there’s a bit of rain expected over the next two days. It’s quite green, it’s in a perfect length for a bowler to bring the batter forward. There are some cracks around, they could open up going into the course of the Test. There should be some burn marks, it could produce some divots.
The pace could be slow because of the rain, the first 30-40 overs will be tough as a batter, it’ll then flatten out a touch and should be easier to bat, reckon Mike Haysman and Hashim Amla, in their pitch report.
Toss : South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat with 4 pacers in the playing XI including debutant Corbin Bosch in the setup. Pakistan skipper Shan Masood batting first decided to go with 7 batters and 4 bowlers in the playing XI.
Day 1 : Dane Paterson, Corbin Bosch and Aiden Markram put South Africa ahead on Day 1 vs Pakistan
Through Dane Paterson’s five-fer, Corbin Bosch’s four-wicket haul on debut and Aiden Markram’s gutsy 47*, South Africa ended Day 1 of the first Test against Pakistan in a better position compared to the visitors. They finished at 82 for 3 at Stumps, trailing Pakistan’s 211 by 129 runs.
Despite Kagiso Rabada being the best bowler in terms of line and length for the hosts, he remained wicketless after testing the batters on both sides of the willow. The hosts quickly managed to pick up the last wicket of Khurram Shahzad three balls into the final session bringing a strange Pakistan innings to an end who were aggressive despite losing regular clumps of wickets.
Markram then got South Africa’s innings underway with an elegant straight drive to the boundary but Shahzad accounted for his partner Tony de Zorzi as he rattled the stumps. With a peach of a delivery, Shahzad got one to seam inwards and had de Zorzi bowled for just two. Ryan Rickelton survived a review after he shouldered arms to a ball which came inwards but fortunately for him was missing the off-stump.
Markram punished two poor deliveries for four off Mohammad Abbas as he moved into double digits but Shahzad scalped his partner, getting him to nick behind to the ‘keeper. Markram and new batter Tristan Stubbs steadied the ship with a 44-run partnership which was dominated by the former. Markram played the ball with soft hands and guided testing deliveries to the fence along with pouncing on any width on offer.
Stubbs, who made only nine, was dismissed in an unfortunate manner with the ball keeping low and trapping him LBW. Skipper Temba Bavuma and Markram then played out the remaining overs to take South Africa to Stumps without any further wickets.
Earlier on, Pakistan survived the first hour of play unscathed but the introduction of Bosch changed the course of the game immediately. Shan Masood drove loosely away from his body, edging one to Marco Jansen at gully, off Bosch’s first ball in Test cricket before Paterson picked up Saim Ayub.
Babar Azam scored only four while Saud Shakeel played a strange six-ball 14 in a mindlessly aggressive innings as Pakistan had fallen to 56 for 4 before Lunch.
Kamran Ghulam and Mohammad Rizwan resurrected the innings with an 81-run stand but the former threw his wicket almost immediately after reaching his milestone, as Paterson struck in the first over of his fresh spell. Ghulam had played a wild swipe to deep backward-square leg.
Salman Agha too raced off the blocks with a boundary but Rizwan fell soon after edging one to slips as Paterson picked up his fourth. Salman and Aamer Jamal attempted to resurrect the innings with a mini partnership of 47 runs in quick time before a mini collapse ensued as Jamal chopped one back on to his stumps before Salman and Naseem Shah departed within the next eight balls.
Day 2 : Corbin Bosch’s batting heroics, late strikes put SA in control on Day 2
The opening Test continued to turn towards South Africa’s favour after Aiden Markram scored 89 and Corbin Bosch’s 81* to take the hosts to 301 and giving them a 90-run lead at the innings break. Saim Ayub and Shan Masood notched up a 49-run opening stand but the South African bowlers picked up three wickets late on the day to leave the visitors two runs behind at 88 for 3 in Centurion.
Pakistan began their innings with a flurry of boundaries as Saim Ayub flicked one for four before following it with a drive through point to the fence off Kagiso Rabada. Bosch was given the new ball in the second innings and was met with the same treatment by the young Ayub with two boundaries to unsettle him. It was sandwiched by a streaky boundary from the bat of Shan Masood.
The visitors had raced away to 48 in 10 overs before South Africa’s talisman Kagiso Rabada induced Ayub to play a booming drive after pitching one up but the batter instead had his off-stump dismantled. First change Dane Paterson honed in on his lines testing Babar Azam and managed to square him up a couple of times but the out-of-form batter got lucky with some edges falling short of the slip cordon.
His partner and skipper Masood, however, was not as fortunate as he poked a ball outside off by Marco Jansen to Tristan Stubbs at third slip as Pakistan lost both their openers still 20 runs behind. Things got worse for the tourists as Kamran Ghulam edged one to gully. Saud Shakeel came out with intent as he carved two boundaries to bring the deficit down to two runs before bad light stopped play late on the day.
Before South Africa picked the three crucial wickets in Pakistan’s second foray with the bat in Centurion, debutant Bosch’s crucial knock alongside Markram’s half-century helped them past 300. Bosch began his innings with couple of boundaries off Khurram Shahzad. He then counter-attacked Naseem with a streaky boundary before guiding the ball to third-man.
Bosch brought up his 50 on debut, becoming the first South African to achieve a double of a four-wicket haul and 50-plus score on Test debut for South Africa.
In the first hour of play, Pakistan were wayward with the ball, gifting looseners as Markram and Temba Bavuma gleefully cashed in. A fruitive passage of play followed when the hosts managed to find the boundary regularly over the next four overs as they pounced on the fuller deliveries by Abbas and Naseem.
The first-change bowler, Aamer Jamal, too was ineffective at the start of his spell, lacking in pace to force the issue against the South Africans before he got Bavuma to nick off to the wicketkeeper for 31. Bedingham continued to find the fence with relative ease as Naseem and Shahzad bowled very straight lines to him. David Bedingham, after a few sighters, creamed Abbas to the fence for a couple of boundaries.
Bedingham continued to find the fence with relative ease as Naseem and Shahzad bowled very straight lines to him. But against the run of play and on the stroke of Lunch, Bedingham threw away his innings with a loose shot nicking to first slip.
Day 3 : Mohammad Abbas, Shahzad keep Pakistan’s hopes alive despite Marco Jansen’s 6-fer skittles Pakistan in 2nd innings
Pakistan struck thrice late on Day 3 to leave the first Test in the balance heading into Day 4 at SuperSport Park in Centurion. Mohammad Abbas and Khurram Shahzad had the ball on a string, getting the red cherry to beat the bat on numerous occasions before prizing out all three key wickets in the same manner – LBW. The hosts are currently 27 for 3 at Stumps and require a further 121 runs with seven wickets in hand to clinch a berth in the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s in June.
Before that, Marco Jansen picked up a six-wicket haul (6-52) to commence a Pakistan collapse from 153 for 3 to 237 all-out. Saud Shakeel top-scored with 84 and Babar Azam chipped in with 50 himself, his first half-century since 2023.
South Africa ended Pakistan’s resistance fairly quickly after the Tea break, within eight overs to be precise. However, Shakeel added some quick runs to the visitors total with three fours and a six as he farmed the strike from Shahzad. But he missed a full toss from Jansen which rendered him plumb in front of the stumps. Corbin Bosch plucked the last wicket of Abbas as the debutant ended with five wickets in the match leaving the hosts a target of 148 to chase.
In the nine-over burst the hosts had to face, Aiden Markram scored a boundary in the first over with a half-hearted shot which fortunately for him, went over the slips. Shahzad began to find his rhythm in his second over with some beauties which cut Tony de Zorzi in half. Abbas from the other end then got one to keep low which thudded into the batter’s pads as he was adjudged to be in front of the stumps. Abbas then squared up Ryan Rickelton with a couple of deliveries before Shahzad picked him up for a duck.
Markram played a punch of the backfoot for four but new batter Tristan Stubbs faced a peach from Abbas which thudded into his pads sending him back for one. Both Rickelton and Stubbs were initially given not-out but Pakistan’s use of DRS was superb in the second innings as they got both reviews correct. Markram hit two more boundaries before Stumps was called due to bad light.
Earlier on, after the first session was completely rained out, Shakeel and Azam were positive throughout the opening hour, presenting the full face of the bat to find boundaries with ease. Pakistan brought up the 50-run lead in no time and soon after, Azam reached his milestone of 50. But he fell an over later as he slashed an innocuous delivery from Jansen straight to deep point.
It was soon a session of two halves for the visitors as they lost five wickets in the second hour of the post-Lunch session. Mohammad Rizwan was strangled down the legside for just three before Salman Agha nicked behind after attempting a booming cover drive, as Jansen picked up his fifth in the innings.
A brief partnership between Shakeel and Aamer Jamal of 32 runs ensued as the visitors attempted to claw themselves back into the game. But just when it was looking threatening, Jamal fell into the trap as he pulled Dane Paterson to the hands of deep mid-wicket. Kagiso Rabada picked up his second of the innings as Naseem Shah nicked behind to third slip with the visitors continuing to capitulate.
Day 4 : Mohammad Abbas career best 6-fer in vain as Kagiso Rabada the unlikely hero with the bat carries SA to WTC 2025 finals in a thrilling 2 wicket win
South Africa clinched their spot in the World Test Championship final to be held at Lord’s in June after they beat Pakistan by two wickets in Centurion. In a nail-biting Test match which ebbed and flowed towards both sides until the very end, South Africa came into Day 4 requiring 121 runs and were in a comfortable position at 96 for 4. But Mohammad Abbas, who picked up career-best figures of 6-54 and bowled 15.3 overs continuously from one end, had other ideas as a mini collapse saw the hosts stumble to 99 for 8.
Mohammad Abbas, on a comeback from a three-year absence from the Test side, bowled a marathon 19.3 overs spell from the Hennops River End and took a career best 6 for 54 but could not end Pakistan’s lean run in South Africa. This is the eighth successive Test they have lost in the country, dating back to 2007.
Pakistan gave themselves every chance by running through South Africa’s middle order on a morning of mayhem, where South Africa lost 5 for 37, including four wickets for three runs in 12 balls, which put the onus on the bowlers to finish the job.
However, an unbeaten 51-run partnership for the ninth wicket between Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen sealed the victory for the hosts as Abbas’ efforts went in vain.
With 121 more to get for the hosts, Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma were initially measured in their approach. They played the balls on merit and didn’t fish outside their off-stump. They creamed the drives through the covers and Bavuma also pulled Abbas for a six, thanks to Naseem Shah stepping past the boundary line after taking the catch.
But it was after the drinks break, when the game turned on it’s head. Abbas was finally rewarded for his control as he castled Markram, getting a delivery to keep low before hitting the off-stump. Bavuma and David Bedingham brought the equation down to 52 runs before the former was strangely dismissed by Abbas.
Bavuma missed a heave and was caught behind after the ball hit the pocket on his trousers. Strangely, the batter walked off without reviewing which then led to a massive collapse for the hosts as they fell from 96 for 4 to 99 for 8. Bavuma’s dismissal came after he had survived two appeals in the first hour when the ball had ricocheted off the trouser and had been caught by Mohammad Rizwan.
Naseem came through in the next over to get Kyle Verreynne to chop on to his stumps before Abbas dismissed Bedingham and Corbin Bosch off consecutive deliveries. It was a terrific spell from Abbas who ran through from the start of Day 4 to the very end of play.
Jansen and Kagiso Rabada are both capable with the bat but with the pressure turned up fully, every ball was an event, from the second one Rabada faced, that he hit up and over point for four, to the final one, steered delicately by Jansen through point to secure the winning runs.
Those strokes are also screenshots of the way the pair approached the chase: Kagiso Rabada backed himself to play his strokes while Jansen was more conservative and happy to wait for scoring opportunities. Between them, they offered only once chance, when Kagiso Rabada, on 12, fished outside off and edged but the chance fell short of Mohammad Rizwan. That came post-lunch, the break South Africa went into needing 32 to win.
Jansen and Kagiso Rabada did not prod their bat outside the off-stump unlike their predecessors. They left balls not in line with the stumps and pounced on the loose balls offered by the engine Abbas and Naseem, taking the hosts to Lunch without any further harm at 116 for 8.
It took 5.3 overs for South Africa to clinch the win after the break but it was not before Kagiso Rabada survived a nick off Abbas which didn’t carry to Rizwan behind the stumps. Understanding that Abbas was beating the bat constantly, the two batters targeted the bowlers from the other end.
Kagiso Rabada was timing the ball perfectly and clubbed Naseem over cover for a boundary before Jansen brought down the equation to 15 with a square cut off Abbas. And slowly, the crowd grew louder than ever. Pakistan then adopted a strange tactic of bringing Aamer Jamal into the attack, his first over of the innings which proved to be costly for the visitors. Kagiso Rabada smashed him for two fours in an 11-run over before Jansen sealed the deal with another square cut off Abbas to the fence.
By the time Abbas found Kagiso Rabada’s edge, they needed 28. Kagiso Rabada went on to score five boundaries in his 31, the third-highest score by a batter at No.10 or lower in a successful chase.
A normally nervous character, Jansen, who spoke about his game plan on the third evening, was solid in defence and then struck two of the sweetest fours of his career, first when he got on top of the bounce from Abbas and then to seal a famous win. While Kagiso Rabada and Jansen held their arms up in celebration on the field, South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma and coach Shukri Conrad embraced in the changeroom. The pair came together at the end of the last WTC cycle to lead South Africa through this one. Mission accomplished.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Temba Bavuma the winning SA skipper said : Quite an emotional moment for me. Lot of joy and happiness on our side. We did the hard way. But glad we won. I was still sulking. Aiden get them going. Wasn’t a lot of conversations. We still had the confidence. I didn’t come out to the viewing area and was in the toilet. I came when 15 runs were needed. It is a big win. Not just for myself. But for the coaches.
The way we started our campaign against India. We weren’t given much of a chance. We weren’t ruthless. But we kept finding ways. We hope the guys can get confidence from performances like these. Guys get picked on when they do badly. We would like to enjoy the moment and take stock of what we have done.
Shan Masood the losing Pakistan skipper said : Extremely proud of the team. Going forward, we need to be ruthless. We were in a reasonable position twice. We could have extended the target while batting. We have pointed out things. We lost wickets in a cluster. We had them 8 down twice in both the innings.
We could have had the extra cushion when Jamal and Shakeel were in yesterday. I am a huge believer in learning. We have to get over the line. We have to seize those moments. We have been making those same mistakes. You want an effort like that like that of Abbas. Saud should have gotten a hundred had we batted better.
Aiden Markram Player of the Match for his batting in 2 innings said : Pretty relieved, that was really tense, to get on the right side is a big thing for us, to get past the winning mark and make it to the WTC final is a big relief for us. Today was the most important knock (compared to the first innings). I would’ve loved to be there at the end, but it didn’t work that way. The wicket changes (at Centurion), the options and the game plans need to be changed (as a batter).
You need to be clinical ( as a team on victories), but you take these wins and go ahead at times. I’m not the one for milestones to be honest, I’m not going to make or break any records, but it’s about making an impact and contributing to wins for South Africa.
It was challenging (on the pitch), I’m fortunate to have played cricket here while growing up, you’re never in on this wicket, it’s up and down and it’s challenging, batting can be very tricky at times, happy that it came off well this time.
South Africa have qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final after beating Pakistan by two wickets in a high-drama encounter at SuperSport Park. Set a modest but challenging target of 148 to win, they were 99 for 8 just before lunch and it was left to Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen to score the remaining 51 runs in a tense ninth-wicket stand against a Pakistan attack with their tails up.
Mohammad Abbas, on a comeback from a three-year absence from the Test side, bowled a marathon 19.3 overs spell from the Hennops River End and took a career best 6 for 54 but could not end Pakistan’s lean run in South Africa. This is the eighth successive Test they have lost in the country, dating back to 2007.
Abbas walks back with his head down. There are hugs and roars in the SA camp. Huge moment for them. They were pushed to the brink. They have clawed back valiantly. Kagiso Rabada being the unlikely hero with the bat. Abbas tore apart the middle and lower middle-order but Rabada was too tough to crack. Jansen also showed courage in the face of adversity and saw his team off.
Pakistan are known to be mercurial. We shouldn’t be surprised that they almost shocked all and sundry again. They came so close. It seemed they will win this but were pipped in the last lap. It was the Abbas show. Every batter was made to dance to his tunes and he scalped 6 wickets to bring down the hosts to their knees. Paterson and Markram, the way they engulfed each other after the winning runs showed what this means to them. The SA team taking a lap of honor.
When Neil Brand led a very young side to NZ, the cricketing world was aghast as Test cricket was ignored at the expense of SA20. Test cricket was pushed to the back burner. But it is this SA team which has become the first team to make it to the final of the WTC third edition. They lost twice against NZ but lost only once more in this cycle and managed to pick up 7 wins to make it to the finale. Pakistan with another loss are one of the table laggards in the WTC table.
Bavuma was cornered so many times at press conferences about how Tests will survive in SA and they have answered every one with their performances. The cliche that Test cricket is alive needed a fitting example like this game. The pendulum just kept oscillating wildly but has come to rest in the SA corner.
The Safaris in the Rainbow nation are meant to be very wild and this game was just a gentle reminder of it. Pakistan like they did against Australia down under had so many chances to gain advantage but they just couldn’t close it out. They will have one more chance in 2025.
Pakistan played like they only can. They had their moments to grab but they let it slip. Even today, they had SA on the ropes at 99 for 8. But Rabada counter-attacked and they couldn’t find a quick fix to that.
They will have go back to the drawing board thinking about how to close out games. SA will go back and party till the sun rises again. Another year and another day in June might just provide them the soothing balm!. There were plenty of heartbreaks in South Africa on June 29. They were robbed off a WC win by the barest of margins. The ‘C’ word had come back to haunt them. But be it in another format, they have ample reasons to be proud of.
They were not given much of a chance in this Championship cycle having opted to prioritise SA20 over Test cricket. But as the WTC schedule progressed, SA team continued to churn out one win after the other. And coming into this game, they needed a win to make it to the finale. And again under pressure, there were plenty of chinks in their armor. But Markram, Paterson and Bosch showed enough character on behalf of the hosts to drag them over the line.
South Africa are into another World finale and here’s an ode for them : Bring out your vuvuzelas and blare it down the streets on this beautiful South African evening. From Pretoria to Potchefstroom, the Protean party prances on with great pomp and pride, as the tag of ‘chokers’ dissipates into the abyss of the deepest gorge at Kruger National Park once and for all.
For all their silver spoons, for all their nearly there’s, South African cricket might have finally arrived! A place in the World Test Championship final is theirs, and it gives some reverence to a nation as it was just struggling to find its identity in World cricket.