Pakistan six down, lead by 200 after seesaw day three in Rawalpindi

Pakistan’s batting collapsed on a tricky pitch as the Men in Green ended day three with a second innings score of 129 runs for the loss of six wickets and a lead of 200 runs.

The hosts will now be pinning their hopes on wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan, who remained unbeaten after scoring 28 runs off 56 deliveries, to bat alongside the tail in order to stretch the lead as much as possible on a rapidly deteriorating Rawalpindi pitch.

Coming in to bat with a first-innings lead of 71 runs, openers Imran Butt and Abid Ali took an ultra-cautious approach. Fast-bowler Kagiso Rabada however quickly worked over Butt with his pace and trapped the batsman in-front for an LBW off a ball that came in sharply, resulting in a duck for the struggling opener off 13 balls.

Veteran batsman Azhar Ali then joined Abid Ali and the duo preferred survival over a run-scoring approach in the face of a tricky wicket and disciplined South African bowling.

An ill-advised sweep by Abid Ali off-spinner Keshav Maharaj however proved to be his undoing as the ball grazed the openers gloves and was caught by wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock. Ali managed just 13 runs off 53 deliveries.

Babar Azam fell early after lunch after being adjudged LBW off the bowling of spinner Keshav Maharaj for the third time in the series. The Pakistan skipper could only manage eight runs off 17 deliveries.

George Linde then made his mark on the match by picking up the two important wickets of batsmen Azhar Ali and Fawad Alam. Both batsmen had spent a significant amount of time at the crease and seemed poised to take their side out of trouble but were removed by the all-rounder. 

Azhar could only manage 33 runs while Fawad could only score 12 runs. Mohammad Rizwan and Faheem Ashraf then, sensing the pressure building up, decided to up the scoring rate and combined for a partnership of 52 runs off 86 deliveries.

Linde however stepped up for his side once more and forced Faheem to play an aggressive stroke that was caught by fielder Anrich Nortje, after the allrounder had managed 29 runs off 49 deliveries. Rizwan remains unbeaten and will start day four batting alongside tailender Hasan Ali.

George Linde was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa, picking up three crucial wickets while fellow spinner Keshav Maharaj took two wickets on day three. Kagiso Rabada only took a solitary wicket after his fiery spell of pace bowling.

Earlier, the Proteas had ended day two with a swift counterattack from skipper Quinton de Kock which resulted in a score of 106 for the loss of four wickets along with a deficit of 166 runs to overcome on day three.

Many expected De Kock to come out swinging on day three but fast-bowler Shaheen Shah had other ideas and removed the opposition’s skipper early to stamp Pakistan’s authority on the match. The hard-hitting batsman had scored 29 runs off 20 deliveries before being bowled by the young pacer.

Spinner Nauman Ali then caught Temba Bavuma on the pads however the umpire adjudged it not out. Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan convinced captain Babar Azam that the ball would have missed leg stump but a review was not taken only for replays to show that the decision would have been reversed in case it had been sent upstairs.

Temba Bavuma and Wiaan Mulder then set out to resist the attacking Pakistan bowlers. The duo seemed to be building towards a substantial partnership before an ill-advised second run and a good throw from fielder Shaheen Shah resulted in Mulder’s dismissal. The batsman had managed 33 runs off 83 deliveries before his unfortunate departure.

All-rounder George Linde tried to fend off an awkward bouncer from fast-bowler Hasan Ali. The ball carried to Mohammad Rizwan and Hasan started appealing for a caught behind only for the wicketkeeper to point out that the ball had hit the batsman’s shoulders and the umpire's decision was not referred. Replays however showed that the ball had hit the gloves on its way to the keeper and South Africa had received another reprieve.

Linde however could not build on this chance as he was bowled by a slower delivery cleverly executed by Hasan Ali after the batsman had scored a run-a-ball 21.

Pacer Hasan Ali then found some reverse swing which was used to devastating effect by the experienced bowler. Keshav Maharaj was bowled by Hasan after scoring just one run off 15 deliveries.

South Africa’s misfortune amplified when a direct hit from fielder Abid Ali found tailender Kagiso Rabada short of the crease for a duck.

Hasan Ali then bowled tailender Anrich Nortje to ensure that batsman Temba Bavuma was stranded without any partners at the other end with an unbeaten knock of 44 runs off 138 deliveries.

Hasan Ali was the standout bowler for his side picking up five wickets at the expense of 54 runs in 15.4 overs while Shaheen Shah, Faheem Ashraf and Nauman Ali picked up a wicket each to reduce South Africa to 201 in their first innings.