South Africa tighten grip with crucial late wickets against Pakistan in 1st Test

South Africa’s Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada Friday orchestrated a top-order collapse leaving Pakistan struggling on the second day of the opening Test at SuperSport Park.

By stumps, the visitors were 88/3 in their second innings, still trailing by two runs, with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan tasked with steadying the ship.

Pakistan started their second innings brightly, with skipper Shan Masood and debutant Saim Ayub forging an aggressive 49-run partnership. The duo attacked the South African bowlers with a flurry of boundaries before Kagiso Rabada dismissed Saim for 28 off 36 balls, which included six fours.

Shan Masood, who scored 28, soon followed as he edged a delivery from Jansen to the slip cordon. Jansen struck again two overs later, dismissing Kamran Ghulam for just four runs, leaving Pakistan reeling at 60/3.

Despite the setbacks, Babar Azam (26*) and Mohammad Rizwan (5*) remained unbeaten, hoping to anchor the innings and build a substantial lead.

Pakistan will rely heavily on their experienced duo to counter South Africa's formidable bowling attack and set a challenging target for the hosts.

With South Africa’s bowlers in excellent form and Pakistan’s lower order yet to be tested, the match promises an intriguing battle as it progresses into day three.

Earlier, debutant fast bowler Corbin Bosch, batting at number nine, hit an attacking 81 not out and took South Africa to a 90-run first-innings lead. South Africa were bowled out for 301 in reply to Pakistan's 211.

South Africa were just two runs ahead when opener Aiden Markram was eighth man out for 89.

But Bosch, who has a first-class batting average above 40, shared stands of 41 with Kagiso Rabada (13) and 47 with Dane Paterson (12).

Bosch hit 15 fours in a 93-ball innings to follow up his first-innings bowling figures of four for 63.