RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — South Africa thrashed Pakistan by eight wickets Thursday to level the two-test cricket series, with off-spinner Simon Harmer playing a crucial role with a six-wicket haul.
Pakistan opened the series with a 93-run victory inside four days at Lahore last week, but Harmer flipped the script on another spinning wicket at Rawalpindi. He snared 6-50 to dismiss Pakistan for 138 on Day 4.
That set South Africa a victory target of 68 runs, and the World Test Championship winners eased to 73-2 in 12.3 overs.
Harmer and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, who missed the first test due to injury, scripted South Africa’s victory with 17 wickets between them in the second test.
“After the first test we were put under pressure but the guys have put their hands up and excelled,” South Africa captain Aiden Markram said. “Great space to be in as a team…the unit out here is one of the best. In South Africa you’d think just seamers, but we are very good with the spinners as well.”
Markram, who stood in the series as skipper in place of injured Temba Bavuma, made a brisk 42 off 45 balls with eight fours to power the chase before he was trapped lbw by Noman Ali when his team needed only four runs for victory.
Tristan Stubbs, one of the four half-century makers in South Africa’s first innings of 404, was out for a duck when he edged Noman to slip, before Ryan Rickelton (25 not out) smashed Sajid Khan for six to secure the win just before the scheduled lunch interval.
“You have to give credit to the opposition, they have kept fighting,” Pakistan captain Shan Masood said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t finish well in the first innings and the difference seeped into the third and fourth innings. We will have to look back at those chances that we missed out on. We are measuring against a team that has won this WTC, so we can’t give them chances.”
Harmer became only the third South African bowler to reach the 1,000-wicket milestone in first-class cricket when he had Noman caught behind, and Pakistan’s second innings collapsed in just over an hour.
The home team’s hopes hinged on overnight batters Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to lift them from 94-4, but both fell to Harmer inside off-spinner’s first three overs of the morning.
Babar, 49 overnight, completed his first half-century of the series with a single and it was loudly applauded by his fans at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. However, Harmer pinned Pakistan’s premier batter lbw with a delivery that spun back and hit Babar low on the pads.
Babar, who hasn’t scored a test century since December 2022, went for a review but the television replays indicated the ball didn’t make any contact with the bat before hitting the pads flush in front of the wickets.
Harmer then got an inside edge off Rizwan’s bat and the ball popped to Tony de Zorzi close to the wicket as Pakistan lost two key wickets inside the first 20 minutes and led by just 34 runs.
Salman Ali Agha made rearguard 28 off 42 balls but chopped Maharaj back onto his stumps before the left-armer had Khan stumped to finish off Pakistan’s resistance.
Pakistan has won four of its last six home test matches since it reverted to spin pitches last year after losing the first test to England in Multan. But its lower order batters have struggled to cope with quality spinners, which saw them losing to the West Indies and then South Africa on Thursday.
“Four out of six is not bad,” Masood said. “There is a lot to work on. The lower batting, finishing innings off, third innings batting. As a side, you are never perfect.”
The two teams will now compete in a three-match T20 series, starting in Rawalpindi next Tuesday. That will be followed by a three-match ODI series in Faisalabad from Nov. 4-8.
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
By RIZWAN ALI
AP Sports Writer
