The Proteas’ luck finally started to change on the third morning of the second Test to keep the visitors in the fight at 285/8 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
Thirty-eight-year-old debutant Asif Afridi picked up three early wickets to claim his maiden Test five-for to undo all the Proteas’ hard work on Tuesday.
The left-arm spinner had Kyle Verreynne caught behind in the first over of the morning before drifting in a slider that wrapped Tristan Stubbs on the pads. Stubbs, the last specialist Proteas batter, reviewed more in hope than anything else, but had to depart for a well-played 76.
Simon Harmer did not last much longer either with Asif Afridi getting another LBW decision in his favour to bring up his personal milestone.
The Pakistan team applaud Asif Afridi with the debutant celebrating his five-for on Test debut against the Proteas in Rawalpindi on Wednesday. Picture: AFP
Marco Jansen played a delightful straight-drive off Shaheen Shah Afridi after the second new ball was taken by Pakistan, but the lanky allrounder did not last long either after becoming Noman Ali’s first victim of the Test to leave the Proteas on 235/8 – still 95 runs in arrears.
But that’s when the momentum changed for the Proteas. After the visitors had dropped four catches offered by Pakistan, it was now the time for the hosts to suffer from butter fingers.
Allrounder Senuran Muthusamy (48*) was showing great defiance while the wickets were falling at the other end, utilising his compact technique to keep out both the spin and pace threat.
However, the Proteas needed runs to get closer to Pakistan’s 333 all out and Keshav Maharaj believed the only way to get them was to utilise the long handle.
Maharaj swatted the spinners down the ground for a couple of boundaries to unsettle Pakistan and the hosts yielded to the pressure by dropping the left-arm spinner on a couple of occasions through Imam-ul-Haq at short mid-off and Asif Afridi off his own bowling.
Drinks, Day 3. 🍸
An eventful first hour of play as #TheProteas Men move to 221/7 after 80 overs, still trailing by 112 runs in the first innings. 🇿🇦🏏 pic.twitter.com/Y0RrRmz2FS
Wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan also let a stumping chance slip past him as the Proteas inched closer to parity.
Maharaj and Muthusamy brought up an invaluable 50-run partnership on the stroke of lunchtime and will hope to continue their efforts after the interval.
Second Test, Day 3, Lunch
Pakistan: 333 all out
South Africa: 285/8 (Stubbs 76, Muthusamy 48*, Afridi 5/61)
A PHOENIX woman and her partner have been arrested on murder charges after they allegedly hired two vagrants to murder her father for R3 500.Arthur "Brian" Ramsamy, a recently retired eThekwini Municipality employee, was found strangled in his Weylen Close, Lenham home on October 5.Two additional suspects have also been arrested in connection with the case.Ramsamy’s daughter, Nicola Ramsamy, and her partner, Brenden Sanichara, were arrested and charged with murder last week. They […]
