Tweet
Lunch Pakistan 9 for 0 (Farhat 8*, Hafeez 1*) trail South Africa 409 (De Villiers 121, Amla 92, Philander 74, Rahat 6-127) by 400 runs
Rahat Ali didn't earn too many admirers after his lacklustre debut in Johannesburg earlier this month, and his shelling of an absolute sitter off AB de Villiers made him a laughing stock, but he silenced the doubters with a six-for that ended South Africa's first innings at 409. With debutant Ehsan Adil struggling with a leg injury, Saeed Ajmal understandably not at his most dangerous this early in the Test, and Mohammad Irfan tiring towards the end of the innings, Rahat was the most successful in an inexperienced Pakistan attack.
Despite Rahat's strikes, South Africa will be satisifed with their total after choosing to bat. De Villiers completed his 16th Test century, and Vernon Philander went on to his career-best score of 74 as they stretched their seventh wicket partnership to 129 on the second morning. The breakthrough finally came for Pakistan more than an hour into the day's play when Philander nicked a low catch to Mohammad Hafeez at first slip.
With eight wickets down, the Centurion crowd braced for de Villiers to unfurl his full repertoire of outrageous strokes before South Africa were bowled out. De Villiers obliged with a daring lofted shot over extra cover but soon after, he was spectacularly caught by Asad Shafiq at the midwicket boundary. The South African innings quickly folded after that, though their score should pose quite a challenge for Pakistan's struggling batsmen on a two-paced pitch.
Pakistan's opening partnership hasn't lasted long in any of their four previous innings this series, but Hafeez and Imran Farhat, who has taken the place of Nasir Jamshed, saw off the five testing overs from Philander and Dale Steyn before the break.
Rahat Ali didn't earn too many admirers after his lacklustre debut in Johannesburg earlier this month, and his shelling of an absolute sitter off AB de Villiers made him a laughing stock, but he silenced the doubters with a six-for that ended South Africa's first innings at 409. With debutant Ehsan Adil struggling with a leg injury, Saeed Ajmal understandably not at his most dangerous this early in the Test, and Mohammad Irfan tiring towards the end of the innings, Rahat was the most successful in an inexperienced Pakistan attack.
Despite Rahat's strikes, South Africa will be satisifed with their total after choosing to bat. De Villiers completed his 16th Test century, and Vernon Philander went on to his career-best score of 74 as they stretched their seventh wicket partnership to 129 on the second morning. The breakthrough finally came for Pakistan more than an hour into the day's play when Philander nicked a low catch to Mohammad Hafeez at first slip.
With eight wickets down, the Centurion crowd braced for de Villiers to unfurl his full repertoire of outrageous strokes before South Africa were bowled out. De Villiers obliged with a daring lofted shot over extra cover but soon after, he was spectacularly caught by Asad Shafiq at the midwicket boundary. The South African innings quickly folded after that, though their score should pose quite a challenge for Pakistan's struggling batsmen on a two-paced pitch.
Pakistan's opening partnership hasn't lasted long in any of their four previous innings this series, but Hafeez and Imran Farhat, who has taken the place of Nasir Jamshed, saw off the five testing overs from Philander and Dale Steyn before the break.