Proteas defeat Pakistan to seal a seventh consecutive Test victory

Kagiso Rabada of South Africa celebrates after dismissing Kamran Ghulam of Pakistan on day four of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman / Gallo Images)

By Keanan Hemmonsbey

6 Jan 2025

South Africa 615 (Rickelton 259, Bavuma 106, Verreynne 100, Abbas 3-94) and 61 for no loss (Bedingham 47*) beat Pakistan 194 (Babar 58, Rabada 3-55) and 478 (Masood 145, Babar 81, Rabada 3-115) by 10 wickets.

South Africa recorded a clean sweep of home summer Tests after beating Pakistan by 10 wickets in the second Test at Newlands on Monday.

It’s their seventh Test win on the trot, marking the Proteas’ best sequence of results since winning nine in a row between October 2002 and May 2003.

The seventh win didn’t come easily, however, with the Proteas spending a total of 13 hours and 26 minutes in the field from the third session of day two until the final session of day four.

South African skipper Temba Bavuma enforced the follow-on on day three after his team skittled Pakistan out for 194, but the Pakistani batters showed resilience in their second batting dig by notching up 478.

This forced the Proteas to bat again in the Test match. It took makeshift opener David Bedingham – who stood in for Ryan Rickelton, who had sustained a hamstring strain – and Aiden Markram less than 30 minutes and only 7.1 overs to knock off the 58 runs required for victory at the end of day four.

rabada Kagiso Rabada’s six wickets in the match, bowling 40.1 overs across the two innings, carried the Proteas with the ball. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman / Gallo Images)

However, it was the bowlers who toiled the hardest throughout the match.

“It can only make us better as a unit,” Bavuma said about spending two days in the field. “It’s been a while since we’ve put in a shift like that, especially the bowlers.

“The guys held themselves well through those trying and testing times. There weren’t guys who were sulking.”

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma. (Photo: Richard Huggard / Gallo Images)

Bavuma’s record as Test skipper is unblemished thus far, having led the team to eight wins and one draw as captain.

Special spell

South Africa didn’t help their cause in their quest for quick wickets. Bedingham dropped Kamran Ghulam (28 off 42) at slip on zero and the leadership group failed to review a plum lbw decision on Saud Shakeel (23 off 51).

Pakistan captain Shan Masood was the main reason South Africa had to slog for so long. The skipper’s vigil at the crease lasted six hours and eight minutes as he accumulated 145 runs in 251 balls, striking only 17 fours.

His stay, the only one to pass 50, was broken by 18-year-old speedster Kwena Maphaka who took his second wicket of the match.

maphaka Kwena Maphaka of South Africa on day four of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands. The young fast bowler claimed his second Test wicket on Monday. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman / Gallo Images)

Pakistan were cruising at 329 for four at that stage when Maphaka bowled a magical spell, dismissing the set skipper as well as being unlucky to not be awarded Shakeel’s wicket after umpire Nitin Menon didn’t raise his finger.

Maphaka steamed in for seven overs from the Kelvin Grove end, one before lunch and six after, into the Cape Doctor and troubled the pair of left-handers with his accurate back-of-a-length thunderbolts.

In the seven-over assault, Maphaka conceded only 17 runs – none of which were boundaries – and took one wicket, that of Masood, trapped lbw.

Maphaka bowled in tandem with Kagiso Rabada, who took the wicket of Shakeel from the other end as the pair broke the innings open and allowed the win to be sealed on day four.

In that period, Maphaka was also rewarded with the second new ball, given to him on the fifth delivery of his third over.

Long journey

South Africa’s next scheduled Test match is the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia at Lord’s in June — although head red-ball coach Shukri Conrad has said they will be looking to arrange fixtures for the side to prepare for the important game.

The fact that South Africa reached the final with one match to spare, after starting the WTC with only one win in their first four matches, exemplifies the growth of the side.

West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and now Pakistan are the teams to have received a bashing from the Proteas.

rabada Kagiso Rabada of South Africa celebrates after dismissing Kamran Ghulam of Pakistan on day four of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands. (Photo: Ashley Vlotman / Gallo Images)

“There is something special brewing amongst the team,” Bavuma said. “I can’t really pinpoint exactly what it is, but it’s quite evident from the outside.

“On the field we back and fight for each other and there’s a strong sense of belief that someone on the day is going to do it for the team whether it’s with the bat or the ball.”

In the second Test on a flat wicket at Newlands, that person was Rickelton with the bat who smacked an incredible career-best 259 on day one and two to set the tone for South Africa’s victory.

“It did help that we won the toss and batted first,” Bavuma said about the action at the start of the Test.

Rabada’s six wickets with the ball, bowling 40.1 overs across the two innings, carried the team with the ball. No other fast bowler bowled more overs in the match. DM

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Special spell

Long journey