Smith leads South African charge in second Test
Graeme Smith hit a brilliant half-century to put South Africa in a
commanding position against Pakistan in the second and final test here
at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.
Smith’s unbeaten 75 and Jacques Kallis’s 37 in a second innings score
of 154-2 gave South Africa an overall lead of 305 when bad light stopped
play on the third day.The tourists dismissed Pakistan for 206 in their
first innings. Smith, whose team has not won a series in the
subcontinent since 2000, hit 11 boundaries in his 233-minute knock to
guide his team into a winning position.
Pakistan, bidding to level the two-match series, saw their main hope
Inzamam-ul Haq falter in his final Test, scoring just 14 when the team
looked to him to avert a large South African lead.
South African spinner Paul Harris said his team looked good to clinch
the series after winning the first Test in Karachi by 160 runs.
“We are confident about our position in the Test. It is not an easy
pitch to bat as it is definitely deteriorating and up and down for both
spinners and seamers,” he said.
Pakistan’s chances of getting quick wickets when South Africa
returned to bat were dented by an elbow injury to spearhead bowler
Mohammad Asif.
Asif, who bowled 34 overs in the first innings, managed just four in
the second before walking off.
“Asif was in pain in his elbow and he will have a MRI (scan) on
Thursday to assess his injury,” said team manager Talat Ali.
It left Pakistan, who entered the Test with just two frontline
seamers and two spinners, severely depleted. Smith and Kallis took full
advantage of the home side’s miseries by adding 88 runs for the unbroken
third wicket stand.It built the innings after the loss of Herschelle
Gibbs, caught behind off a wild shot on the bowling of fast bowler Umar
Gul for 16.
Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria bowled Hashim Amla for 17 to leave the
tourists at 66-2 before Smith and Kallis took charge.
Earlier, South African paceman Makhaya Ntini took three wickets in an
over to help South Africa take a big first innings lead of 151.
Ntini’s burst, in his second over of the day, included the wickets of
Misbah-ul Haq (41), Gul and Kaneria without scoring as Pakistan lost
their last six wickets for just 66 runs after resuming at 140-4.
Pakistan’s main hope rested on Inzamam who survived just five
deliveries before edging seamer Kallis to wicket-keeper Mark Boucher.
The 37-year-old batsman now needs just six runs in the next innings
to erase the record of the most Test runs by a Pakistani batsman
currently held by Javed Miandad with 8,832.
Captain Shoaib Malik did not last long as he failed to keep a sharp
rising delivery from paceman Dale Steyn and was caught at short-leg by
Amla for just one.
Misbah, who made a career-best 41, added 39 runs for the seventh
wicket with Rehman (25 not out) before Ntini ended any hopes of a
late-order charge.
Ntini almost took a hat-trick. He dismissed Haq, who improved on his
best Test score of 23, caught behind off a rash drive outside the
off-stump.
He then trapped Gul with his second delivery and then came
agonisingly close when an edge off Kaneria fell short of the slips
fielder. Off his sixth, Ntini had Kaneria caught by Boucher for his
400th victim.Boucher set a world record for the most dismissals behind
the stumps in the first Test in Karachi, beating Australian Ian Healy’s
record of 395.
SOUTH AFRICA 357
(A. Prince 63, J. Kallis 59, M. Boucher 54; Danish Kaneria 4-114)
PAKISTAN 1st innings
(overnight 140-4)
Salman Butt c Smith b Harris 40
Kamran Akmal c Smith b Harris 52
Younis Khan b Nel 3
Mohammad Yousuf lbw b Steyn 25
Inzamam-ul Haq c Boucher b Kallis 14
Misbah-ul Haq c Boucher b Ntini 41
Shoaib Malik c Amla b Steyn 1
Abdul Rehman not out 25
Umar Gul lbw b Ntini 0
Danish Kaneria c Boucher b Ntini 0
Mohammad Asif c Amla b Harris 4
EXTRAS: (lb1) 1
TOTAL: 206
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-90 (Butt), 2-93 (Younis),
3-99 (Akmal), 4-123 (Yousuf), 5-149 (Inzamam),
6-150 (Malik), 7-189 (Haq), 8-189 (Gul), 9-189 (Kaneria).
BOWLING: Ntini 8-1-42-3,
Steyn 12-3-60-2,
Nel 16-3-39-1,
Harris 20-5-57-3,
Kallis 7-2-7-1.
SOUTH AFRICA
2nd innings
G. Smith not out 75
H. Gibbs c Akmal b Gul 16
H. Amla b Rehman 17
J. Kallis not out 37
EXTRAS: (b8, nb1) 9
TOTAL: (for two wickets) 154
To bat: A. Prince, AB de Villiers, M. Boucher,
A. Nel, P. Harris, D. Steyn, M. Ntini
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-34 (Gibbs), 2-66 (Amla)
BOWLING: Asif 4-1-14-0,
Gul 12-2-40-1,
Kaneria 21-4-54-0,
Rehman 18-3-38-1.
Wednesday, AFP.
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