South Africa 404 (Muthusamy 89*, Stubbs 76, Rabada 71, Asif 6-79) and 73 for 2 (Markram 42, Rickelton 25*) beat Pakistan 333 (Masood 87, Shakeel 66, Maharaj 7-102) and 138 (Babar 50, Harmer 6-50) by eight wickets
Pakistan began the final morning with the thin hope that Babar Azam’s overnight presence might force the game to stretch. That illusion disappeared within minutes. His half-century from the second ball of the day was followed three balls later by an lbw that set off the slide. In the space of nine runs, four wickets fell and South Africa were already halfway to the handshake.
Simon Harmer was the engine of that final dismantling. His sixth wicket, the edge from Noman Ali that carried to Verreynne, took him to 1000 in first-class cricket. Only three South Africans have been there before him. The dismissal also summed up the pattern: flight, precision, and a surface chewed up by left-armers providing enough mischief to punish Pakistan’s hesitant defence.
The self-harm continued. Rizwan advanced too far and spooned a catch to short leg. Shaheen Afridi was run out by a direct hit after a misjudged single. Agha Salman was bowled by Maharaj’s arm ball and Sajid Khan was stumped soon after. A position of 105 for 5 disintegrated in familiar fashion, their third-innings frailty from recent series returning on cue.
The chase of 68 was not long or dramatic. Markram swung early to set the tempo and Rickelton joined in soon after. Pakistan cycled through their spinners without creating tension and the runs came fast enough to threaten a finish before lunch. Noman Ali removed Markram and Stubbs with the target almost gone, but Rickelton ended it with a clean hit over long-off.
This win levels the series and gives South Africa their first points in the defence of the World Test Championship crown. For Pakistan it is the first home defeat after winning the toss since they shifted to spin-heavy home surfaces. Shan Masood had spoken previously about how Pakistan would play if the toss went against them. Across these four days, it was South Africa who took those ideas and executed them better than the team that voiced them.
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