Debutant Corbin Bosch hit 81 and left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen took two late wickets as South Africa dominated the second day of the first Test against Pakistan at SuperSport Park on Friday. Bosch, batting at number 9, helped South Africa take a 90-run first-innings lead, and the bowlers made it count by taking three wickets before Pakistan erased the deficit. Pakistan finished the match on 88 for three and are still two runs behind. A win in either of these two Test series would see South Africa qualify for next year’s World Test Championship final for the first time.
The contest was evenly played when opening batsman Aiden Markram was 89 for 8 and South Africa were 213 for 8. This was just two runs ahead of Pakistan’s first innings total of 211.
Four South African wickets fell for 35 runs either side at lunch, with Naseem Shah scoring three with a blistering attack and it looked likely that the two sides would start the second innings on almost equal terms.
However, Bosh, a first-class player with a batting average of over 40, shared 41 with Kagiso Rabada (13) and 47 with Dane Patterson (12), showing free-spiritedness and a variety of hitting balls to turn the narrow lead into a hit. Something practical.
Bosh hit 15 fours in a 93-ball innings.
A remarkable debut performance followed for the 30-year-old Bosh, who recorded 4 hits for 63 in the first innings and recorded a speed of 147 km/h, the fastest bowler at the time.
Bosch, whose Test cricketer father Tertius died when Corbin was five, was low on the list of potential Test fast bowlers at the start of the season.
But a long list of injuries to high-profile players and good recent form have opened the door for him.
Bosch shared the new ball with Kagiso Rabada in the top of Pakistan’s second innings but left the field after three overs without taking a wicket.
Saim Ayub and Shan Masood, who both made 28 before Rabada bowled Ayub, put on 49 for the first wicket.
Jansen was caught at gully for eight before Masood was caught at third slip and first-innings top scorer Kamran Ghulam stopped play in a bad light.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
