South Africa 147/7 Chasing 278 in Lahore Test

LAHORE – On the fourth day of the first Test between Pakistan and South Africa at Gaddafi Stadium, South Africa is currently batting in their second innings, chasing a target of 278 runs.

The innings resumed with Tony de Zorzi and Ryan Rickelton at the crease, starting from a team score of 51. However, Tony de Zorzi, who was South Africa’s top scorer in the first innings, was dismissed for 16 runs, trapped LBW by Shaheen Afridi.

At 55 runs, South Africa lost their fourth wicket when Tristan fell cheaply after scoring just 2 runs, caught off a delivery by Nauman Ali. The fifth wicket fell at 128 runs, with Dwaine Pretorius scoring a valuable 54 before being bowled by Nauman Ali.

Ryan Rickelton continued to build the innings but was caught by Agha Salman off Sajid Khan’s bowling at 134 runs, marking South Africa’s sixth wicket.

At tea break, South Africa stood at 137 for six wickets. After the break, senior batsman Senuran Muthusamy was dismissed LBW for 6 runs by Sajid Khan.

From the bowling side, Nauman Ali took four wickets, Sajid Khan claimed three, and Shaheen Afridi took one wicket in Pakistan’s second innings bowling effort.

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On the third day’s close, South Africa was 51 for 2, chasing 277, with early wickets falling as captain Aiden Markram was dismissed for 3, and Wiaan Mulder out for a duck. Tony de Zorzi and Ryan Rickelton remained not out with scores of 16 and 29 respectively.

Pakistan’s batting in their second innings struggled as they were all out for 167 runs the previous day. Imam-ul-Haq, who scored a brilliant 93 in the first innings, was dismissed without scoring early in the innings. Babar Azam scored 42, Abdullah Shafiq made 41, and Saud Shakeel contributed 38 runs, while other batsmen failed to make significant contributions.

In response to Pakistan’s first innings total of 378, South Africa were all out for 269 runs. Nauman Ali was the standout bowler for Pakistan, taking six wickets, while Sajid Khan took three.

Pakistan’s first innings featured impressive knocks from Imam-ul-Haq and Agha Salman, both scoring 93 runs, captain Shan Masood with 76, and Mohammad Rizwan with 75.

The match remains finely poised as South Africa continues their chase in the fourth innings.