“It is satisfying, but the show goes on,” said Proteas bowler, Kagiso Rabada, as he recorded 200 wickets in Test cricket, writes Aditya Mehta.
“It’s a massive feat to be included with such names,” he said. Rabada attributed his consistent success in Test cricket to “relentless” work on improving his craft and perfecting little elements in his game that might appear to be simple.
With the Pakistani lower order frustrating the South African bowlers, they finished with 378 runs in the first innings, leading South Africa by 157 runs. An opening partnership of 48 between Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram, followed by a key partnership of 127 between Markram and Rassie van der Dussen, brought South Africa back in the game.
As wickets often fall in clusters in the subcontinent, South Africa lost van der Dussen, Faf du Plessis, and Aiden Markram in quick succession. South Africa collapsed from 175/2 to 185/4, leading Pakistan by 29 runs, with night-watchman, Keshav Maharaj, and skipper, Quinton de Kock, now at the wicket.
“His (Aiden Markram) innings was extremely important. His partnership with Rassie got us back in the game,” said Rabada of Markram’s innings of 74 of 224 balls. Disappointed as Markram might have been at not getting a well-deserved century, Rabada is aware of the significance of his knock. “He gave us a real chance in this Test,” Rabada said.
Aware of the challenges South Africa will have to confront on Day 4 of this Test match, Rabada stated, “We’re going to get tested tomorrow. We’re up for the challenge. That’s what we play for.”
Aiming to set Pakistan a steep target, Rabada hopes the Proteas bowlers will take advantage of the variable bounce and extra turn on offer over the next two days, as Pakistan will attempt to chase in the fourth innings.
From Pakistan’s perspective, Yasir Shah, was pleased to be amongst the wickets in this Test match. Shah said the day began well for Pakistan, with the tailenders batting well in the first hour. However, he did expect South Africa to fightback.
The Pakistani bowlers aimed for consistency by landing the ball in the same areas throughout the day, hoping for the Proteas to make mistakes, which they eventually did, having lost three wickets for ten runs.
Photo: PCB
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