CENTURION: Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen shared an unbeaten 51-run ninth wicket partnership as South Africa beat Pakistan by two wickets on the fourth day of the first Test in Centurion on Sunday.
The thrilling first Test victory sends Proteas into 2025's World Test Championship final at Lord's in England, having needed to win just one of the two Tests against Pakistan.
Needing 148 runs to win, South Africa crashed to 99 for eight owing to superb bowling by Mohammad Abbas, who had career-best figures of six for 54. But Rabada went on the attack, hitting 31 not out, before Jansen (16 not out) hit the winning runs.
Captain Temba Bavuma's controversial dismissal punctuated a South Africa collapse as it lost four wickets for just three runs with Abbas grabbing three off his six balls.
Bavuma, who made 40, surprisingly didn't request a television review when replays suggested that Abbas' ball had brushed the batter's pocket and didn't make contact with the inside edge of the bat but the South African skipper walked back to the dressing room.
Abbas bowled an unchanged marathon spell of 13 overs, but had to wait until Aiden Markram (37) and Bavuma saw off the testing first hour.
Resuming at a wobbly 27-3, with still 121 runs needed for victory, Bavuma and Markram showed plenty of patience against Abbas' probing line and length before the fast bowler 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 knocked back the off stump.
Bavuma survived a couple of close chances when he successfully overturned an on-field lbw decision against him early in the day and Naseem Shah couldn't hold onto a sharp catch at fine leg as he overstepped the boundary cushion while grabbing the ball over his head.
South Africa had controlled the game at 96-4 before Bavuma's dismissal saw Abbas finding the outside edges of David Bedingham (14) and Corbin Bosch's (0) bat off successive deliveries and in between Kyle Verreynne dragged Naseem Shah's delivery back onto his stumps to give Pakistan a chance for victory.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 211 and 237.
South Africa 301 and 150-8 (A. Markram 37, T. Bavuma 40, K. Rabada 31 not out; Mohammad Abbas 6-54).
Result: South Africa won by two wickets.
Series: South Africa lead the two-match series 1-0.