South Africa's Marco Jansen is confident the Proteas will wrap up the first Test against Pakistan today with a victory. | AFP
SOUTH AFRICA v PAKISTAN: First Test, Day 3, Stumps
Pakistan: 211 & 237
Saud Shakeel 84 ; Marco Jansen 6/52
South Africa: 301 & 27/3
Aiden Markram 22*; Mohammad Abbas 2/3
South Africa need 121 runs for victory
To fulfil the dream of reaching the promised land of the World Test Championship final at Lord’s next year, the Proteas need a further 121 runs.
The initial target of 148 seemed straightforward enough, but having lost three wickets for just 27 when the umpires deemed the light not good enough for Pakistan’s fast men to operate, the tension in the home dressing room was certainly palpable.
Pakistan’s opening bowlers Mohammad Abbas (2/3) and Khurram Shahzad (1/22) orchestrated their role of potential party-poopers to perfection. Abbas was naggingly accurate and Shahzad fiery in a sensational nine-over burst that will see Tony de Zorzi, Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs all return on the fourth day with only their small bags.
The @ProteasMenCSA are 23/3 as Stubbs is trapped in front by Abbas 🇿🇦👇
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) December 28, 2024
📺 Stream #SAvPAK on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyR504 pic.twitter.com/ccse4ClV7v
The scant consolation for the Proteas is the fact their first innings top-scorer Aiden Markram and captain Temba Bavuma are the men at the crease.
“We know that with the new ball, the ball moves quite sharply here, especially in the second innings of the game here at Supersport Park,” Proteas all-rounder Marco Jansen said.
“So, we knew what was going to happen, we knew that the ball was going to move around a bit. With the new ball, definitely going to move sideways, and then the odd ball will shoot up, like we saw, and then the odd ball will also keep low. Look, the three wickets they got right now were three good balls, so it's not like we threw our wickets away.”
Jansen is confident though that the Proteas can get over the line as long as they commit to a plan.
“I think from a mental point of view, it's just to formulate a plan, how you want to go about it, how you think is the best way to go about it, and then just stick to that for as long as possible,” he said.
“Because once the ball gets older here, it gets a lot easier to bat, and it's a nice scoring ground. So, with the new ball, definitely going to move sideways, and then the odd ball will shoot up, like we saw, and then the odd ball will also keep low.”
The @ProteasMenCSA wrap Pakistan's second innings up 🔚🔚
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) December 28, 2024
South Africa need 148 runs to win the first Test match 🎯
📺 Stream #SAvPAK on DStv: https://t.co/rM90YyQxaw pic.twitter.com/lmFTAFJEkr
It was primarily due to the lanky left-armer that the Proteas have such a meagre total to chase. Jansen recovered from a disappointing effort in the first innings to bag a brilliant haul of 6/52 to bundle out Pakistan for 237.
There was a first Test half-century since 2022 for Babar Azam and a delightful 84 from Saud Shakeel, but Jansen kept chipping away to keep Pakistan from posting a really formidable target.
Jansen attributed his turnaround in fortunes to maintaining his discipline.
“I just went to bed thinking, okay, cool, how can I benefit the game in a positive way? And I would like to think I did that (yesterday),” he said.
“We know some of their batters, or most of their batters, they like to play a positive brand of Test cricket, so we know that if we stick to our lines and lengths, they might leave one or two, but their tendencies are that they might leave two or three or four balls, and then they'll go at one.
“So, we always knew that we're in the game, and we always know that something's going to happen, especially if you string one or two good overs after one another.
“So, for us, it was just to keep nice and patient and keep on that hard length, because like I said earlier, the ball tends to shoot up or keep low, and that's the challenges for the batters.” | Independent Media Sport
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