South Africa booked their place in the World Test Championship final with a double win.
South African seamers Kagiso Rabada and Marko Janssen hung on against relentless fast bowler Mohamed Abbas for a tense two-run win in the first Test at Centurion to secure the Proteas’ place in next year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Jansen (16 not out) overshadowed Abbas’s impressive figures of 6-54 on Sunday with square boundaries against the fast bowler as South Africa reached 150-8 just after lunch on day four and escaped with a close win in Monday’s opener. -Match series.
“It’s a very emotional moment for me, a good advertisement for Test cricket,” said South Africa captain Themba Bavuma, who turned 40.
“We were not cruel but we found a way to make sure that the result was in our favour. A lot of joy and happiness on our part, a few ups and downs, and we are happy that we were able to achieve the result.”
Abbas, who returned after more than three years in the Test wilderness, nullified South Africa’s tough chase of 148 runs in a marathon 13-over spell before lunch as the home side reached 99-8, losing four wickets for three runs. .
However, Rabada changed gears in a sustained 51-run stand with Janssen and hit 31 off 26 balls with five fours to seal a memorable win and deny Pakistan their first Test win in South Africa in nearly 18 years.
South Africa started this WTC tournament with a 1-1 draw against India before being swept 2-0 in New Zealand. But since then, the Proteas have beaten West Indies, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to remain at the top of the table.
“It (the FIFA World Cup final) is a big event, not only for me, but also for the team and the coach,” Bavuma said. He added: “The way we started our campaign against India and then New Zealand with a not strong team and the way we presented our performance did not give us many opportunities.”
India, Australia and Sri Lanka are the other teams still in contention for June’s WTC final against South Africa at Lord’s.
Captain Temba Bavuma (40) and Aiden Markram (37) frustrated Abbas for an hour after South Africa resumed with the score at 27-3, still needing 121 for victory.
Bavuma’s controversial dismissal led to South Africa’s collapse in the latter half of the first session as Abbas grabbed three off six balls in a dramatic collapse for the home side.
Surprisingly, Bavuma did not call for a television review when television replays indicated that Abbas’ ball hit the batsman’s pocket and did not touch the inside edge of the bat, and the South African captain returned to the dressing room.
Abbas bowled an unchanged marathon spell of 13 overs but had to wait until Markram and Bavuma took out eight overs from the fast bowlers.
Resuming at 27-3, Bavuma and Markram showed plenty of patience against Abbas’s checking line and length before the speedster finally got the breakthrough after the first drinks break.
Abbas was rewarded for his brilliant seam bowling when he beat the outside edge of Markram’s bat and dropped the stump backwards.
Bavuma survived a couple of close chances when he successfully overturned a LBW decision on the field against him early in the day and Naseem Shah was unable to hold on to a sharp shot at fine leg when he crossed the boundary pad while holding the ball over his head. .
South Africa controlled the match 96-4 before Bavuma’s dismissal found Abbas on the outside edges of the bat of David Bedingham (14) and Corbin Bush (0) off successive deliveries, and in between, Kyle Vereen pulled Naseem Shah’s delivery back to His trunks. .
Abbas found the outside edge of Rabada’s bat in his first over after lunch which was just short of wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan before both seamers took the team home.
“I am very proud of the effort, but going forward, we have to be relentless,” Pakistan captain Shan Masood said. “We keep making the same mistakes, but we have to get over the line and seize the moments.”
The second Test begins in Cape Town on Friday.
