South Africa 316 for 4 (Rickelton 176*, Bavuma 106) vs Pakistan
The pair played perfectly complementary roles, with Rickelton scoring heavily on the off side (102 of his 176 runs came there) and Bavuma scoring on the on side. Together, they made some excellent drives and while Rickelton’s runs came directly into areas down the field, Bavuma was excellent on flicks and pulls.
Abbas bowled 19.3 consecutive overs at SuperSport Park last weekend and produced a career-best performance of 6 for 54 with the new ball at Newlands. His first ball hit Markham’s front pad and Pakistan thought they had the first wicket. Umpire Nitin Menon had no objection so he reviewed but replays showed that the ball was hitting the upper half. Markram was saved on the umpire’s call.
Rickelton was more free-flowing in the opening pair and hit seven fours in addition to Markram’s three fours in the 61-run opening partnership. Rickelton presented a chance when an edge from Khurram Shahzad fell short of second slip and South Africa went ahead. Their highest first-wicket partnership since March 2023. Unlike the run of the game, Markram finally got a chance when he edged Shehzad to substitute fielder Abdullah Shafiq. Having been out for a duck thrice in ODIs and not played a game since then, Shafiq was under pressure and the ball went straight in and out of his hands. Markram was on 17 runs.
No real damage was done, as in the next over, Markram slashed at a ball that went away and in past Mohammad Rizwan. On Abbas’s return after a seven-over break, Mulder’s ball took an outside edge, giving Pakistan its second wicket. And Pakistan made another breakthrough at lunch when Stubbs latched on to a ball bounced from part-time spinner Salman Agha and went past Rizwan.
Pakistan missed the opportunity to maximize their advantage after the break when they stuck with Aamer Jamal at one end and Agha at the other instead of bringing on one of their strike bowlers and allowing Bavuma to come through easily. Bavuma got his first run when he dismissed Jamal. Finished third and began a series of great drives to continue his excellent form this summer.
Masood called Mir Hamza after five overs after the break and Shehzad after eight overs. By then, Rickelton was in his 60s. He hit two fours in the first over of the second session off Shahzad and put a halt to Pakistan’s attack. He gave South Africa easy run-scoring opportunities with field spreads and various lengths.
Rickelton entered the 90s by hitting two consecutive fours off Shahzad and quietly reached 99 runs. He faced only one ball in the next two overs as Bavuma maintained the strike, but when Agha bowled a delivery on his pads, he put it away. Second century in three Test matches. Two overs later, Bavuma completed his half-century off 82 balls and South Africa were out at 184 for 3 at tea.
The evening session was all over South Africa when Rickelton and Bavuma took their place. Bavuma hit the first six of the innings when he bowled Agha to midwicket, and Pakistan might have been left wondering about the wisdom of not employing a specialist spinner, being only a holding bowler at the time. Rickelton hit South Africa’s second six over midwicket in an over from Jamal, taking 14 runs.
He reached 150 with a cover drive off Khurram for four runs, while Bavuma was 11 runs away from his century. He got there seven overs later with a single off Jamal and almost ran to the long-on boundary, pumping his arms in celebration before swinging his bat wildly at the media end. Bavuma’s emotions got the better of him when he dismissed Agha to Rizwan 17 minutes before the end of the game. Since becoming captain, Bavuma has scored three of his four Test centuries and averages 57.78.
Rickleton and Bedingham ended the day with Pakistan finishing 10 overs short of the required 90 runs.
Firdoz Munda is ESPNcricinfo’s South Africa and women’s cricket correspondent
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