LAHORE: The first Test between Pakistan and South Africa at the Gaddafi Stadium is delicately poised after an absorbing third day dominated by spin, leaving both sides with equal chances of victory as 16 wickets tumbled on Tuesday.

Pakistan, who began the day in command with a 109-run first-innings lead, squandered the advantage through another batting collapse and were bowled out for just 167 in their second innings. That left South Africa chasing 277 for victory — a daunting target on a sharply turning pitch.

By stumps, South Africa had reached 51 for two, with Ryan Rickelton (29 not out) and Tony de Zorzi (16 not out) battling hard to steady the innings after the early losses of captain Aiden Markram and Wiaan Mulder, both dismissed by left-arm spinner Noman Ali. The visitors still need 226 runs to seal what would be a record chase in Pakistan, surpassing Sri Lanka’s 220-run effort in Rawalpindi in 2000.

Earlier, Pakistan’s hopes of setting an impregnable target vanished in dramatic fashion as the hosts slumped from 150-4 to 167 all out, losing six wickets for just 17 runs in 39 balls.

The collapse was triggered when Saud Shakeel (38) holed out off Senuran Muthusamy’s left-arm spin in the last over before tea. Simon Harmer then bowled Mohammad Rizwan (14), and Muthusamy sliced through the tail with a brilliant spell that fetched him 5-57 — his second five-wicket haul of the match and a maiden 10-wicket return in Tests.

Harmer, equally potent from the other end, claimed 4-51, while Kagiso Rabada added the crucial wicket of Babar Azam (42), trapped leg-before by an in-swinger. Pakistan’s second innings lasted only 46.1 overs, exposing the fragility of their middle order against disciplined spin.

The morning session, however, belonged to Pakistan as Noman’s probing spin wrapped up South Africa’s first innings for 269, handing the hosts a crucial lead.

Resuming on 81, de Zorzi completed a fighting century — his second in Tests — before falling for 104, caught by Shaheen Shah Afridi at long-off attempting a big hit off Noman. His 171-ball stay included 10 fours and two sixes.

Noman finished with 6-112 from 35 overs — his ninth career haul of five or more wickets — while Sajid Khan supported well with 3-98 as the tail folded quickly.

When Pakistan began their second innings, they immediately found themselves under pressure as Harmer, introduced in the second over, had Imam-ul-Haq stumped for a duck before trapping skipper Shan Masood lbw for seven — a decision that looked marginal even on review. Abdullah Shafique (41) and Babar Azam added 55 for the fourth wicket to steady the innings, but once both fell, the rest crumbled.

Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan’s first-innings hero with 93, was bowled by Muthusamy cheaply, while Noman, Shaheen and Sajid perished in quick succession to leave the home side in disarray.

Despite the setback, head coach Azhar Mahmood remained optimistic that Pakistan could defend the target.

“We have put ourselves in this situation with poor shot selection,” Azhar admitted after play. “Losing six wickets for 17 runs was purely due to bad decision-making, not the pitch. But given the help for spinners, we are still confident of defending 277.”

Azhar praised Noman and Sajid’s effort and stressed the need for tight, patient bowling on day four.

“The key will be not letting Zorzi and Rickelton settle. We must bowl in partnerships and build pressure. The pitch will continue to deteriorate, and our spinners can make the difference,” he said.

For South Africa, Muthusamy’s performance was the highlight of the day. His match figures of 11-174 were the fourth-best by a South African spinner in Tests.

“It’s not an easy surface for batting,” De Zorzi, who starred with a century in the first innings and remains unbeaten in the second, said. “You have to settle in before scoring. We’ll try to build partnerships because that’s the only way to chase this down.

“Conditions are tough but manageable if you play straight and with patience. Rickelton and I just want to bat time and see where it takes us.”

Scoreboard

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 378 (Imam-ul-Haq 93, Salman Ali Agha 93; S. Muthusamy 6-117)

SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings, overnight 216-6):

A. Markram c Rizwan b Noman20

R. Rickelton c Babar b Salman71

W. Mulder c Rizwan b Noman17

T. de Zorzi c Shaheen b Noman104

T. Stubbs c Rizwan b Noman8

D. Brevis c Shan b Sajid0

K. Verreynne lbw b Noman2

S. Muthusamy c Salman b Sajid11

S. Harmer not out19

P. Subrayen c Salman b Noman4

K. Rabada b Sajid0

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-5, NB-3, W-1)13

TOTAL (all out, 84 overs)269

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-45 (Markram), 2-80 (Mulder), 3-174 (Rickelton), 4-192 (Stubbs), 5-193 (Brevis), 6-200 (Verreynne), 7-228 (Muthusamy), 8-256 (de Zorzi), 9-268 (Subrayen)

BOWLING: Shaheen 5-2-15-0, Noman 35-3-112-6 (2nb), Sajid 33-2-98-3 (1w), Hasan 4-2-14-0 (1nb), Salman 7-2-21-1

PAKISTAN (2nd Innings):

Abdullah Shafique c&b Muthusamy41

Imam-ul-Haq st Verreynne b Harmer0

Shan Masood lbw b Harmer7

Babar Azam lbw b Rabada42

Saud Shakeel c Stubbs b Muthusamy38

Mohammad Rizwan b Harmer14

Salman Ali Agha b Muthusamy4

Shaheen Afridi c Mulder b Muthusamy0

Noman Ali lbw b Muthusamy11

Sajid Khan c Brevis b Harmer1

Hasan Ali not out0

EXTRAS (LB-4, NB-5)9

TOTAL (46.1 overs)167

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-2 (Imam), 2-33 (Shan), 3-64 (Abdullah), 4-119 (Babar), 5-150 (Saud), 6-150 (Rizwan), 7-151 (Shaheen), 8-166 (Salman), 9-167 (Noman)

BOWLING: Rabada 10-0-33-1 (5nb ), Harmer 14.1-3-51-4, Muthusamy 17-1-57-5, Subrayen 5-0-22-0

SOUTH AFRICA (2nd Innings):

R. Rickelton not out29

A. Markram b Noman3

W. Mulder c Salman b Noman0

T. de Zorzi not out16

EXTRAS (LB-1, NB-2)3

TOTAL (for two wickets, 22 overs)51

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-13 (Markram), 2-18 (Mulder)

STILL TO BAT: T. Stubbs, D. Brevis, K. Verreynne, S. Muthusamy, P. Subrayen, K. Rabada, S. Harmer

BOWLING: Hasan 2-0-2-0, Noman 11-2-20-2 (2nb), Sajid 5-0-21-0, Salman 4-1-7-0

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2025