Excellent batting from Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen clinched a two-wicket win for South Africa against Pakistan in the first Test, sealing their spot in the Test Championship Final.
South Africa started the day on 27-3.
Aiden Markram and Temba Bavuma scored 35 before Mohammad Abbas turned the game around in Pakistan’s favour by ripping through the SA batting attack. He took 4-40 in the first session.
Markram (37) was the first to go when an in-swinger kept low crashing into his stumps.
At this point, South Africa wasn’t in trouble quite yet. They added another 34 runs until a bizarre dismissal flipped the game into the hosts’ favour.
Bavuma (40) advanced down the track looking to hit Abbas over mid-wicket, but it seemed like he got a feint inside edge which sparked a passionate celebration from Pakistan. Bavuma walked when he should have reviewed it. The replay showed that there was no edge and it brushed his pocket.
The wickets tumbled from there. Bedingham, Verreynne and Bosch nicked off balls they could have left. SA went from 62-4 to 99-8.
Two of those wickets were down to Abbas and Verreynne was dismissed by Nadeem Shah.
Jansen and Rabada survived until lunch, with South Africa needing 32 runs to win.
Rabada and Jansen were absolutely superb. They played sensible cricket, hitting the bad balls and running smartly between the wickets.
Rabada scored 31 (5 fours) and Jansen 16 (3 fours), a 51-run partnership to win the match by 2 wickets.
South Africa has sealed their spot in the Test Championship Final with a Test in Newlands still to play in the new year.
“Today, we stand extremely proud of our Proteas Men after their exceptional achievement of qualifying for the World Test Championship Final,” CSA Chief Executive Officer, Pholetsi Moseki said.
“Their achievement is a monumental one and illustrates the progress they have made over the past 18 months, so a hearty congratulations to coach Shukri Conrad and his team.
“Journeys such as these, over a period of time, are never easy, but Temba and his team have shown outstanding determination, commitment to excellence, and hunger to succeed as they reached the top of the world ranking.
“We can now look forward to an exciting six months ahead as our boys prepare to take the field at the home of cricket in London.”
The Proteas began their journey in the 2023-2025 cycle with a drawn (1-1) home series against India last summer, before suffering their sole loss of the cycle (2-0) in an away series in New Zealand. They then won (1-0) a two-match series in the West Indies last August, before claiming arguably their most impressive result with a fine series win (2-0) in Bangladesh.
They then returned home for the current summer, which began with a double victory (2-0) over Sri Lanka, prior to the ongoing series, which they now lead 1-0 with one match to play.
“I would like to congratulate coach Shuks and his coaching staff, as well as captain Temba and all the players who contributed to this wonderful feat,” Director of National Teams and High Performance, Enoch Nkwe added.
“We must remember that this was the first full cycle for our coach, and to have done as well as he has is a great accomplishment. The entire team faced many challenges along the way; from injuries to personal circumstances and so much more. But they have stood the test of time.
“We are so proud of them, and we are really excited about being the top team in the WTC.”
