Heading into the first day of this 2nd test match between South Africa and Pakistan, it was clear that both their sides had their ups plus downs during a interesting three sessions. As the Proteas unit showed great fight with their bowling attack earlier in the day, things quickly changed when more options came in to make an impact.
Hoping to make a strong comeback tommorow and gain control of this match, they are still without some key players like Temba Bavuma, while Wiaan Mulder was put on the bench. Aiden Markram once again has the keys to lead this side and should show his impactful leadership during all situations to help put South Africa in a more favorable position.
For Pakistan, this was a pretty decent start as they once again showed that their confidence doesn’t get shattered even when they enter tension situations. A squad that has continued fighting out of what could have potentially broken them, they will be going into the second day with complete control and happiness.
Knowing that their middle-order has slowly become one of the vital components for this unit, while making a difference against bigger nations, their side has started giving out more competitive performances lately. As captain Shan Masood has led this team past England and could also do it against South Africa, his leader has been unquestioned, while also having impact as a top field placer.
Pakistan Top-Order Provides Real Dominance Once Again To Improve Average
Looking at Pakistan’s batting performance today, much credit goes to their top batsmen as they were able to create a strong score before slowly falling apart. Opener Iman Ul-Haq looked solid during their short innings from the left side as he scored two wonderful boundaries and looked in great touch early on.
Having an opening pair that scored 35 runs together, Imam-Ul-Haq was the first wicket lost, while helping Abdullah Shafique get set from the other end. Talking about Shafique, he hit another key half-century after looking very patient at the crease and understanding when to go a little more aggressively. Finishing with four boundaries, his test game continues being consistent and at top form.
Leading them past 145 runs and looking really solid, his duo with Shan Masood was something really ket to look at since both of them dominated despite batting from the same side. As Shafique was moving very well between the wickets, he seemed almost impossible to take out until Simon Harmer provided a very suprise ball that was swinging in.
Talking about captain Shan Masood, he really played a key role during that partnership as well, since he scored over 40 and had a strike rate near 50. With them gaining a lot of self-confidence after seeing such a key moment in the match, it felt like things were lost once Babar Azam lost his wicket for just 16.
Middle-Order Gives Pakistan More Things To Be Happy About
Despite Azam being removed at 167/3 and it feeling like this would be a stage in where everyone else would follow suit, Shan Masood continued developing his innings from the other. Crossing the 50-run mark, he had a massive partnership with Saud Shakeel that helped them get well past 210 runs, while once again giving Pakistan control.
Knowing that the captain was leading with a charge, he was able to finish at 87 runs on 176 balls and mixed his two fours, with three massive sixes while manevuring around the crease. Seeing that he was the fourth wicket, in came Mohammed Rizwan to try and create a similar partnership with Shakeel, that Masood was able to.
But, after hitting two boundaries and scored a total of 19 runs, he was removed on a great delivery from Kagiso Rabada and gave Pakistan a little more hope after extending their score. Hitting till they hit the near 250 mark, his ability to play in this format would have been huge if Rizwan was able to stay in the match much longer.
With Salman Ali Agha being their last batter coming in today, he scored a quick 10 runs with one boundary to help Pakistan reach 259/5, before ending the day. For Saud Shakeel, he was able to score 42 runs and really made a difference with three vital boundaries, while showing his talent as a defensive piece too.
South African Bowlers Seemed To Have Very Up-And-Down Performances
On South Africa’s side, it was clear that their bowling unit couldn’t stay consistent and had a tough time sticking to their keys. As they did have tons of positives to begin, the negatives kind of outweighed them towards the end, especially for a few spinners.
With Keshav Maharaj having a big day after taking two wickets, he was able to keep that economy near 2.00, while also bowling over 30 overs. Creating nice turn, his ability to consistently hit the mark made it much harder for other options to easily take him on. From the other end, Simon Harmer also had a huge chunk of overs with 23 and was able to gain two wickets before anyone could take him on.
One disappointing part was the fact that Senuran Muthuswamy didn’t create any wicket-taking threat after giving up nearly 4.5 an over during his 4. Someone who really dominated the first couple of innings in their first test match, the anticipation was for him to bring something similar, but it wasn’t shown.
As left-handed pacer Marco Jansen bowled 6 maidens and gave up just a 2.63 economy, his one issue was that he couldn’t pick up a wicket after being a mismatch against many other stars. With Rabada getting his wicket, Aiden Markram tried closing it out very well for this unit, but was another piece that couldn’t provide potential wickets after clearly missing the stumps.
What lies ahead on Day 2
Looking at tommorow’s match, one key thing to notice is that South Africa will go with a more spin approach. Something that favored them to get wickets during the first day, it will be big for them because pacers may start leaking some runs after bowling several overs.
Even the fast-bowlers will need to provide some big type of wicket-taking threat and look to attack the middle of the stumps, so South Africa can finally get rid of Saud Shakeel. Getting him and Ali Agha out fast, their hope is if that come true, then their bowling attack could hold Pakistan down near 300 runs, while starting their own batting performance with much more energy.
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