Third Test, Cape Town, day two (stumps): South Africa 183 & 36-2 v Pakistan 157 & 186Here are the Live Scores.
South Africa need 125 more to win the series against Pakistan after ending day two of the third Test on 36-2.
Mark Boucher's fine unbeaten 40 lifted their first innings score to 183 after they slumped from 131-5 to 140-8.
Pakistan were then reeling on 121-7 after Dale Steyn took three wickets but Mohammad Sami (31) and Shahid Nazir (27) added 55 to help them make 186.
Danish Kaneria got Boeta Dippenaar and Paul Harris late on as the wickets kept tumbling but the hosts have the edge.
It did not look that way when the tourists struck three early blows in the first session.
Ashwell Prince was unlucky to be adjudged caught at silly mid-off when he appeared to get no touch to a Danish Kaneria googly and the ball deflected off wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal's gloves.
But Harris and Andrew Hall were the first in a long line of players to perish driving loosely outside off-stump.
Boucher showed batting was far from impossible when he thrashed three fours and a massive six over long-on in a Mohammad Asif over costing 22 runs.
Pakistan's top order failed dismally, however, and Steyn profited to have Mohammad Hafeez caught at backward point and trap Imran Farhat lbw with one that nipped back into the left-hander.
Younis Khan should have been run out by yards when Yasir Hameed sent him back but was soon back in the pavilion anyway when he chased a Makhaya Ntini delivery.
Hameed and Mohammad Yousuf produced some blistering shots to take the lead past 50 but Andrew Hall sparked another flurry of wickets which left them in danger of a two-day defeat.
He jagged the ball back in sharply to bowl Yousuf through the gate and saw Hameed push leaden-footedly to Prince before Kamran Akmal was stumped milimetres outside his ground lunging forward to spinner Harris.
Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq survived a tough stumping chance off Harris and a dropped catch from Kallis off Hall before Steyn had him caught behind after tea.
South Africa lost their edge in the field for a while and Nazir was dropped twice, by Kallis at slip off Harris and by Hall at gully off Steyn, before playing some of the best shots of the day.
There were two straight drives off Kallis and one off Ntini but Kallis ended the fun when he induced an edge and Sami mis-timed a pull off the same bowler as the innings ended in a hurry.
Smith was immediately into his stride, particularly straight down the ground and through mid-wicket, and picked up six boundaries in his unbeaten 33 courtesy of some handsome drives off Asif and Nazir.
Dippenaar did not offer much, however, and was caught by Boucher off the back of his bat attempting to sweep Kaneria, who had night-watchman Harris leg-before in the last over of the day.
It was just the boost Pakistan needed but if the home side show a level of caution yet to be demonstrated in this game, they should complete a second succesive 2-1 series triumph after beating India earlier in their summer.
No comments:
Post a Comment