A seesaw fourth innings at the Supersport Park in Centurion eventually ended in the hosts’ favor in the Boxing Day Test, with South Africa edging out Pakistan by only two wickets. With this victory, Temba Bavuma’s side sealed their place in the ICC WTC 2023-25 final, which will be their maiden appearance in an ICC WTC final after failing to reach it in the previous two editions.
The ICC WTC 2023-25 final will be played in June next year at Lord’s. India, Australia, and Sri Lanka are the other three teams in contention for a spot in the final.
Day 4 in Centurion was thrilling as it ebbed and flowed towards both teams, but the hosts eventually prevailed through an unbeaten 51-run stand for the 9th wicket between Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen.
South Africa were set a target of 148 runs and looked to be coasting towards it at one point when they were 96/4. However, Mohammad Abbas, who hadn’t played Test cricket since 2021, bowled superbly to dent the Protea middle and lower order.
Abbas bowled 15.3 overs continuously from one end to end up with career-best figures of 6/54. But his efforts went in vain as Rabada and Jansen held their nerves.
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Captain Bavuma top-scored in the fourth innings with 40, and Aiden Markram scored 37. Markram was named the Man of the Match for scoring 89 in South Africa’s first innings and 37 in the second.
In the post-match presentation ceremony, Markram said, “Pretty relieved; that was really tense. To get on the right side is a big thing for us; to get past the winning mark and make it to the WTC final is a big relief for us. Today was the most important knock (compared to the first innings). I would’ve loved to be there at the end, but it didn’t work that way.”
Earlier, Pakistan were bundled for 211 in their first innings after being asked to bat first. Kamran Ghulam top-scored with 54 while Dane Paterson and Corbin Bosch combined to pick up nine wickets. South Africa then posted 301, riding on Markram’s 89 and Bosch’s 81.
Pakistan did well in their second innings to score 237, with Babar Azam hitting 50 runs and Saud Shakeel scoring 84. Marco Jansen bagged a six-wicket haul in Pakistan’s second innings. South Africa struggled through their chase, but Rabada and Jansen’s valiant batting efforts helped them get over the line.
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