Pakistan 64 for 3 (Babar 31*, Ghulam 12, Rabada 2-9) track South Africa 615 (Rickelton 259, Verreynne 100, Jansen 62, Abbas 3-94) by 551 runs

After taking command before lunch, South Africa ground Pakistan in the dust in the afternoon. Rickelton finished with 259, falling just short of Stephen Fleming’s 262 as the highest score at Newlands. Verreynne brought up his fourth Test hundred. Jansen, out of form with the bat for the entire year in 2024, ushered in the new year with a whirlwind half-century. Six fours and three sixes helped him get there in 42 balls. Thus, a whopping 137 runs were added in the second session, when South Africa had risen to 566 for 7 at tea, already their highest score at home in four years.

Pakistan battled on furiously, but their efforts never seemed to bear fruit on a wicket that had long since been flattened and batsmen who had long since settled down. Much of the second session became a milestone exercise. Verreynne followed up the belligerence that had ignited the first session, a boundary from Mohammad Abbas and a single off the next ball, bringing three figures. It brought Newlands back to its feet; they may have sore legs from the frequency with which they should do so.

Salman Ali Agha struck next to prize him out as Verreynne went for a stroke sweep, but it did little to slow South Africa’s momentum. Without any pressure on the scoreboard, Jansen let his natural talent speak for itself, swinging freely and timing it beautifully. He took 11 balls to get off the mark, but once he did, there was no stopping him. Two fours and a six off Khurram Shahzad in two consecutive overs helped bring up the 50 partnership in 46 balls, while each of Rickelton and Jansen helped themselves to sixes from Salman.

Pakistan finally saw the back of Rickelton before tea was called. After hitting Mir Hamza over his head for four, he hit the next ball to Abbas at long-on, who hung on to send him on his way, but not before he had almost doubled his Test tally in one innings.

In the morning, Rickelton had become the first South African in eight years to score a double hundred in Tests as South Africa tightened their grip on the Test. Pakistan began the session with some promise, took the new ball straight away and struck within four overs when Abbas tempted David Bedingham into a push outside off-stump and induced an outside edge. That gave Pakistan a boost, but Rickelton simply continued with the discipline that saw him enter the night unbeaten on 176. He was careful with the length of deliveries and dismissed everything else.

Verreynne, meanwhile, was less picky in his shot selection, a hook over deep backward square from Abbas revealing his intentions. It was a shot that defined the session for him; he picked up two more sixes from Jamal in the final over before lunch in the same manner. With Shan Masood putting three fielders close into cover, he still found a way to pierce them through the region against Hamza, whose attempts to induce cover drives were successful, but just not in the way he had hoped.

At the other end, Rickelton reached his double hundred with a strike through offside, celebrating halfway down the box. But the highlights all belonged to Verreynne, who greeted Salman with a reverse sweep for four off the second ball, and another to end the over-off. Before the session was out, Verreynne had taken down Jamal by plundering 17 runs in an over.

Pakistan finally managed to end the innings after more than 140 overs under the hot Newlands sun, finishing with pleasing symmetry as they started it. Abbas hit the top of off-off to beat back debutant Kwena Maphaka’s stumps, just as ball tracking expected Abbas would have done off the first ball of the innings had Aiden Markram’s pad not been in the way.

But as soon as they started with the bat, they could almost have stood back and wished that South Africa’s innings didn’t end. Masood didn’t see the first over and nudged a Rabada delivery that nipped away, taking his outside edge with it. Saud Shakeel fell in almost identical fashion when he uncharacteristically drove at Rabada, the same edge bearing to the same slip fielder, with David Bedingham making no mistake.

In between, extra pace and bounce from Jansen forced Kamran Ghulam into an awkward position that culminated in his stumps being scattered behind him.

So menacing was South Africa’s opening volley and so listless was Pakistan’s batsmen that it felt the hosts could dig deep in the tail this evening. But Babar Azam, opening in the absence of Ayub, dug in alongside Mohammad Rizwan and South Africa’s replacement bowlers were not quite up to the devastating level of Rabada and Jansen.

That helped Pakistan, who ensured they ended a day that had no redeeming features, with the hope that the next one may delay the inevitable for a while longer.