World Test Championship; Rawalpindi ready to host second Test match..
…(Asghar Ali Mubarak).
Rawalpindi ready to host second Test Pakistan, South Africa match of World Test Championship, Pakistan has a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series, Pakistan defeated South Africa by 93 runs in the first Test match.
In the first Test match, Pakistan had given South Africa a target of 272 runs to win, in response to which the Proteas team was bowled out for 183 runs. In pursuit of the target,
Dewald Brews stood out for the visiting team by scoring 54 runs, while Noman Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi took 4 wickets each and Sajid Khan took 2 wickets for the national team. Noman Ali took a total of 10 wickets in the match, Sajid Khan took 5, Shaheen Shah Afridi took 4 wickets, one wicket went to Salman Ali Agha.
In the first innings, Pakistan scored 378 runs, in response to which South Africa scored 269 runs and the host team took a lead of 109 runs. In the second innings, the national team was bundled out for 167 runs and set the visiting team a target of 277 runs to win.
South Africa started their incomplete innings with 51 runs for the loss of 2 wickets, Proteas batsman Ryan Rickelton had scored 29 and Tony de Zorzi had scored 16 runs. Tony de Zorzi fell victim to Shaheen Shah Afridi on the third ball of the fourth day without adding any runs,
while Ryan Rickelton was dismissed by Nauman Ali after scoring 45 runs and Tristan Stubbs was a guest of just 2 runs. When the play began on the fourth day, South Africa started their incomplete innings with 51 runs for the loss of 2 wickets, Proteas batsman Ryan Rickelton had scored 29 and Tony de Zorzi had scored 16 runs.
Tony de Zorzi fell to Shaheen Shah Afridi on the third ball of the fourth day without adding any runs, while Ryan Rickelton was dismissed by Nauman Ali after scoring 45 runs and Tristan Stubbs was dismissed for just 2 runs. Dewald Brewes troubled the Pakistani bowlers a lot and it seemed that if he remained at the crease for a while longer, the match would be out of Pakistan’s hands, however,
Nauman Ali once again used his experience and bowled him, he was dismissed for 54 runs off 54 balls, which included 2 sixes and 6 fours. Pakistan had won the toss and decided to bat in the match and scored 378 runs in the first innings thanks to half-centuries by Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha, while Senoran Muthuswamy took 6 wickets for South Africa.
In response, the entire South African team returned to the pavilion for 269 runs. Tony de Zorzi played an innings of 104 runs with the help of 10 fours and 2 sixes for the Proteas, while Ryan Rickelton scored 71 runs. For the Pakistani team,
Noman Ali took 6 and Sajid Khan took 3 wickets. Despite taking a 109-run lead over South Africa, the Pakistani team could not perform well in the second innings and the entire team was bundled out for 167 runs. Babar Azam scored 42 and Abdullah Shafiq scored 41 runs. Muthuswamy, who took 6 wickets in the first innings for South Africa, also took 5 wickets in the second innings.
Simon Harmer took 4 wickets and Kagiso Rabada took one wicket. The Rawalpindi Test will be the 32nd Test between Pakistan and South Africa. Previously, Pakistan won 7 out of 31 matches while South Africa won 17.
This is South Africa’s fourth tour of Pakistan. Earlier in the 2021 tour, Pakistan won both the Test matches under the leadership of Babar Azam. The second Test between the two teams will begin today (Monday) at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
It is very difficult to create a spin pitch in Rawalpindi because the humidity in the air remains all day and the ball does not get rough. On the other hand, the South African team is more skilled in playing spin bowling and is also equipped with a dangerous spinner like Keshav Maharaj. Captain Markram is also a good spinner.
Captain Adam Markram’s brilliant batting made South Africa the Test champion. Along with him, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs and David Bedingham are prominent batsmen.
Pakistan is likely to retain the winning squad for the second Test match, and entry to various enclosures will be free for cricket fans. Head coach of the national team Azhar Mahmood said that the final XI will be decided after looking at the pitch, maybe 3 spinners will be used in the second test,
all our 7 batsmen showed performance in the first test match, we are fully prepared to play against the best bowler of South Africa. South African captain Adam Markram, while talking to the media,
said that we have trained extensively here in Rawalpindi, we have inspected the pitch, playing in these conditions is always challenging, we will try to equalize the series by making a comeback in the series,
hopefully cricket fans will get to see the best cricket. It should be noted that Rawalpindi Police has completed foolproof security and traffic arrangements for the second test match of the series between Pakistan and South Africa cricket teams.
Strict security arrangements have been made during the test match on the instructions of City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani. More than 5500 officers and personnel of Rawalpindi Police are performing security duties, while more than 367 traffic officers have been deployed for effective traffic arrangements.
