South Africa National Cricket Team and the Pakistan National Cricket Team locked horns with each other in the first Test of the two-match series. The game between the two teams took place at the Supersport Park in Centurion and concluded on Sunday (29th December).
South Africa National Cricket Team completed another good effort in Test cricket. They won the first game of the series against the Pakistan National Cricket Team by a margin of two wickets and qualified for the final of the ICC World Test Championship.
South Africa bundle out Pakistan for 211, take lead of 90 runs
South Africa National Cricket Team opted to field first and they had a decent outing with the ball as they bundled out the Pakistan National Cricket Team for just 211 runs. It was a decent start for the visitors with the bat as skipper Shan Masood (17) and Saim Ayub (14) added 36 runs for the opening partnership.
But after that, Pakistan failed to capitalize on the start as South Africa National Cricket Team bowlers were all over the opposition. They reduced the Shan Masood-led side, tottering at 56/4. However, Kamran Ghulam (54) slammed a magnificent half-century to bring his team back into the game.
Contributions from Mohammad Rizwan (27), and Aamer Jamal (28) in the end powered the Pakistan National Cricket Team to a total of 211 runs. For South Africa National Cricket Team, Dane Paterson picked fifer while Corbin Bosch bagged a four-wicket haul with the bat.
South Africa National Cricket Team had a similar kind of effort with the bat as they, too, couldn’t score big. Aiden Markram seemed the only settled batter in the top and middle order as he played a magnificent innings of 89 runs and kept his team in the hunt.
A late blitz by Corbin Bosch, who played an unbeaten innings of 81 runs, powered the South Africa National Cricket Team to a total of 310 runs, taking a lead of 90 runs. For the Shan Masood-led side, Naseem Shah and Khurram Shahzad picked three wickets each.
South Africa win the first Test against Pakistan
Pakistan then came up with a decent effort with the bat as half-centuries by Saud Shakeel (80) and Babar Azam (50) helped them go past the total of Temba Bavuma-led side, posting a target of 148 runs to chase.
In the chase, although the hosts lost three quick wickets, Aiden Markram (37) and skipper Temba Bavuma (40) took the team out of trouble. The captain batted with great control and it seemed that he would take his team home.
But Pakistan made a sensational comeback with Mohammad Abbas taking 6 wickets and leaving the hosts at 98/8. But after that, Kagiso Rabada (31*) and Marco Jansen (16*) came up with a stellar effort to help their team book a place in the final of the ICC World Test Championship.
ICC World Test Championship Points Table After SA vs PAK 1st Test 2024
South Africa sit at the top of the table and now will be playing the final. Australia and India are next on the ICC World Test Championship Points Table on 2nd and 3rd respectively. It is likely that one among them will play in the ICC World Test Championship final.
Here’s the Table:
|
Pos. |
Team |
Matches |
Won |
Lost |
Draw |
Points Played |
Points |
PCT |
|
1 |
South Africa (Q) |
11 |
7 |
3 |
1 |
132 |
88 |
66.67 |
|
2 |
Australia |
15 |
9 |
4 |
2 |
180 |
106 |
58.89 |
|
3 |
India |
17 |
9 |
6 |
2 |
204 |
114 |
55.88 |
|
4 |
New Zealand |
14 |
7 |
7 |
0 |
168 |
81 |
48.21 |
|
5 |
Sri Lanka |
11 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
132 |
60 |
45.45 |
|
6 |
England |
22 |
11 |
10 |
1 |
264 |
114 |
43.18 |
|
7 |
Bangladesh (E) |
12 |
4 |
8 |
0 |
144 |
45 |
31.25 |
|
8 |
Pakistan (E) |
11 |
4 |
7 |
0 |
132 |
40 |
30.30 |
|
9 |
West Indies (E) |
11 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
132 |
32 |
24.24 |
Also read: ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year 2024 nominees revealed, no Indians in contention