South Africa v Pakistan - First Test

Springbok Park, Bloemfontein

South Africa: BA Richards, TL Goddard, *WJ Cronje, RG Pollock, AD Nourse, DJ Cullinan, +DT Lindsay, MJ Procter, NBF Mann, AA Donald, PS Heine.
Pakistan: Mohsin Khan, Mudassar Nazar, Majid Khan, Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, *Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Intikhab Alam, +Wasim Bari, Waqar Younis.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: VK Ramaswamy (IND) & LP Rowan (AUS)
Toss: Pakistan

An incredible final day ignited a hitherto mundane series opener where rain, bad light and over-cautious batting had combined over the course of the first four days to set up what looked like a cast-iron draw.

South Africa, fielding the recalled Procter in the XI at the expense of the injured McMillan, were inserted on a humid first morning, and after losing both openers cheaply, two sizeable stands propelled the Proteas to a reasonable first innings total of 360. New skipper Hansie Cronje contributed a confident, career-high 86 to a third wicket stand of 147 with Pollock (71), who was caught quite brilliantly by Wasim Bari on the rebound from Majid at first slip, then Denis Lindsay blitzed a 122 ball century out of a national record partnership of 152 for the sixth wicket with a subdued Cullinan (67*). Nourse's 12 was the only other double figure score though, and with Imran and the excellent Wasim Akram both picking up four wickets, and Wasim Bari five catches, both sides were probably reasonably happy at this stage.

Pakistan's first innings was also founded on two substantial partnerships: the recalled Mohsin and Mudassar immediately clicked, adding 138 for the first wicket, then Mohsin linked up with Zaheer to post 152 for the fourth wicket, with both men reaching very controlled centuries. Zaheer was the fifth man out, caught behind off Goddard for 110, but by this time Mohsin was already back in the pavilion for a wonderful 172, compiled in almost nine hours at the crease. South Africa's pace trio of Donald, Procter and Heine struggled to make an impact, and it was left to Goddard and Mann to do the bulk of the bowling. Together they returned the combined figures of 90-32-145-7, with Goddard picking up the ninth five wicket haul of his ATG career as Pakistan lost their last five wickets for 44.

As it was, the tourists' total of 442 had given them a lead of 82 on first innings, but with only one day's play remaining, the draw seemed a certainty. What a final day it proved to be though! Richards (13) and Goddard (24) both departed with the score on 42, and after Cronje (53) and Pollock (39) put together their second significant stand of the match - this time they added 77 - wickets fell steadily for the South Africans. Wasim and Waqar - who picked up his 100th ATG wicket along the way - bowled well at the top of the innings, and the swing of Asif Iqbal cleared out the tail to bowl out South Africa for 195 in just 63 overs. Procter bagged a pair on his return to the team, and had it not been for a couple of dropped catches and some stubborn late resistance from Mann (18 in 82 minutes), it could have been even more disastrous for the hosts.

Pakistan now needed 114 to win off 29 overs, but in fading light and on a pitch that was now offering up some uneven bounce, they got themselves into a right royal pickle during their chase. Mohsin found it difficult to force the pace, taking 34 balls over his 14, Javed slammed his first ball straight to Mann at mid off and Imran, who had promoted himself to number five, looked completely out of touch. At 51-4, Pakistan needed 63 off the last 10 overs, and then it was 50 off 5 with five wickets in hand, Donald having picked up all five. Akram briefly rallied with a six and a four off Donald but he eventually holed out to Richards, and Pakistan eventually finished on a shambolic 81-7, still 33 short, with Donald returning the remarkable figures of 7-35, the best for South Africa in ATG cricket.

An amazing 17 wickets had fallen on the final day, and although the match did indeed end in the widely predicted draw, the course taken to get there was far from straightforward. Hansie Cronje enjoyed a good first match as captain, contributing two fifties and standing up well to the Pakistan quicks, and the stage is now set for what could become a truly epic series.

Scores
SAF 1st Inns 360 (Lindsay 105, Cronje 86, Pollock 71, Cullinan 67*, Wasim Akram 4-79, Imran Khan 4-83)
PAK 1st Inns 442 (Mohsin Khan 172, Zaheer Abbas 110, Mudassar Nazar 63; Goddard 5-75)
SAF 2nd Inns 195 (Cronje 53; Asif Iqbal 4-35)
PAK 2nd Inns 81-7 (Donald 7-35)

MATCH DRAWN


Man of the Match: Mohsin Khan