Pakistan beat South Africa in first Test: Records broken
The Pakistan cricket team beat South Africa in the first Test of the two-match series. The Proteas failed to gain much significance with the bat across both innings as Pakistan came out on top. Being set a target of just 88 runs on Day 4, Pakistan got the job done convincingly. Spinners Nauman Ali and Yasir Shah were terrific. Here are the records broken.
Dean Elgar scored 58 for SA in the first innings, who were bowled out for 220. Yasir and Nauman claimed five wickets between them. In reply, Pakistan were reduced to 27/4 but Fawad Alam's 109, backed by gritty fifties from Azhar Ali and Faheem Ashraf help them post 378. SA were bundled out for 245 next as Pakistan sealed the deal by seven wickets.
Fawad went past 500 runs in Test cricket, besides registering his third career Test century. It was also his maiden ton against the Proteas and a first on home soil. Azhar scored his 33rd career Test fifty and a fifth against SA. He also went past Aravinda de Silva (6,361) in terms of runs. All-rounder Faheem Ashraf bagged his third Test fifty.
Elgar (58 and 29) brought up his 16th career Test half-century. The opener has raced to 4,228 career Test runs at 40.26. Meanwhile, fellow Proteas opener Aiden Markram scored a 224-ball 74 in the second innings. The right-handed. batsman notched his hit his eighth career Test fifty. 31-year-old Rassie van der Dussen scored 64 in the second innings. It was his fifth Test fifty.
Kagiso Rabada, who claimed figures of 3/70 in Pakistan's first innings, raced to 200 career Test scalps. Rabada became the eighth South African to scalp 200 Test wickets. He has achieved the feat in his 44th Test match, becoming the third-fastest Proteas bowler to do so after Dale Steyn and Allan Donald.
Notably, Rabada is the joint-13th fastest to reach 200 Test scalps. Pakistan's Yasir Shah holds the record (33 Tests). Rabada now has the best bowling strike-rate in Test cricket (minimum 200 wickets). His strike-rate of 41.1 has seen him better the tally of Steyn (42.3). Rabada has the fourth-best bowling average (23.07) for South Africa for bowlers with 200-plus wickets.
Nauman Ali, who made his Test debut for Pakistan, claimed seven wickets in the Test. Notably, Nauman claimed a fifer in the second innings (5/35). The spinner became the 12th Pakistan player to take a five-for on Test debut.
