Rickelton falls for 71 as South Africa lose third wicket in Lahore Test

LAHORE: On the second day of the first Test between Pakistan and South Africa, the visitors lost their third wicket at a score of 174. South African batter Ryan Rickelton scored 71 runs off 137 balls before being caught by Babar Azam at slip off Salman Ali Agha’s bowling.

Earlier, Pakistan were bowled out for 378 runs on the second day of the first Test against South Africa at Gaddafi Stadium, with spinner Senuran Muthusamy claiming a career-best six wickets.

Resuming their innings at 313 for five, Pakistan lost their remaining wickets in the morning session, adding just 65 runs before being dismissed. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 75, while Salman Ali Agha fell just short of a century on 93. Nauman Ali and Sajid Khan were dismissed without scoring, while Shaheen Shah Afridi made 7 before departing. Hasan Ali remained unbeaten on zero.

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Muthusamy’s six-wicket haul marked his best Test performance, while Prenelan Subrayen picked up two wickets, and Simon Harmer and Kagiso Rabada claimed one each. Pakistan twice lost three wickets on the same score, at 199 and again at 362, in an otherwise solid innings.

By lunch, South Africa were 10 without loss, with captain Aiden Markram on 5 and Ryan Rickelton on 4. The visitors lost their first wicket in the second session when Markram was dismissed for 20, caught off Nauman Ali, leaving them 47 for one.

Later, South Africa’s second wicket fell at 80, with Wiaan Mulder scoring 17 off 41 balls, also dismissed by Nauman.

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After the morning session, Rizwan reflected on Pakistan’s evolving Test conditions, saying that the new spin-friendly pitches present challenges for both batters and bowlers. “The conditions you create for others test you as well,” he said. “Earlier, people expected 400-500 runs on our tracks, but now you have to work hard to score big.”

He added that while spin dominates in such conditions, “hard pitches can still assist seamers.”

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At stumps, South Africa trailed by 298 runs with eight wickets in hand, as the first Test continued under bright Lahore skies.