South Africa booked a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final after grabbing a two-wicket win against Pakistan with the help of Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada in the first Test at SuperSport Park Cricket Stadium, Centurion, on Sunday.
Returning pacer Mohammad Abbas’ six-wicket haul went in vain as South Africa held their nerves calm to edge past Pakistan.
South Africa’s tailenders Rabada and Jansen displayed nerves of steel and put together a match-winning 51-run partnership to defy Pakistan’s comeback.
The duo batted sensibly to recover their side from 99/6 after Abbas’ six-fer.
The eventful day kicked off with the home side resuming their innings from 27/3 through Aiden Markram and skipper Temba Bavuma, while chasing a modest 148.
The duo stretched their overnight partnership to 43 runs until Abbas cleaned up Markram, who scored 37 off 63 deliveries with the help of six boundaries.
The returning pacer soon got rid of South Africa’s batting mainstay Bavuma to open the floodgates.
The skipper remained the top-scorer for the Proteas Men with a cautious 40 off 78 deliveries, comprised of four fours and a six.
The next over saw Naseem Shah finally opening his account by castling wicketkeeper batter Kyle Verreynne, who made just two.
Abbas further pushed South Africa to the backfoot by dismissing David Bedingham (14) and debutant Corbin Bosch (zero) on successive deliveries, reducing the home side to 99/8.
Following the catastrophic collapse, Jansen and Rabada fought well to take the hosts’ total to 116/8 with a crucial 17-run partnership.
When the lunch was taken, Rabada was unbeaten on 10, while Jansen had made five.
For Pakistan, Abbas took six wickets, while Naseem and Khurram Shahzad picked one.
