A quick look-back at the first two test matches between South Africa and Pakistan in 2013

The Pakistani cricket team lost the second test match to South Africa, consequently sealing the fate of the series in the favour of the host.

A lot of cricket fans in Pakistan are immensely disappointed by the way their side has performed against a team that is ranked No.1 in test cricket and for good reason as well.

The Pakistani players were never really able to adapt to the demanding conditions that were on offer and to make matters worse, South Africa’s fast bowler Dale Steyn was in his characteristic form in both the matches that have been played so far.

Vernon Philander, another Protease quickie, has been doing some amazing things with the ball for the past couple of years and little changed as he pierced through the shaky Pakistani batting line-up to get his team on course for victory.

Both the Pakistani openers, Muhammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed, appeared to be on a vacation in South Africa.

While Hafeez contributed a lot with the ball in the first innings of the first match oh Johannesburg, his contribution with the bat was something that would have earned him a lot of fans in South Africa.

Jamshed was the hero in the series that Pakistan played against India in the latter’s own backyard, which consequently led to huge expectations from him. Unfortunately, he failed to deliver as well and therefore left everything to the Pakistani middle-order.

The middle-order was neither too impressive, nor too shabby, with Younus Khan and Asad Shafiq registering a century each during the first innings of the second test match in Cape Town, while Azhar Ali and Misbah-ul-Haq pitching in during both the matches.

However, the effort was not good enough in comparison to the South African batsmen, with Hasim Amla and AB DeVilliers asserting their dominance on the touring side.

Pakistan’s crafty off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was the only one who troubled the Protease batsmen in the second match, but with the star bowler of the first match Junaid Khan unfit for the second match due to injury, he was left alone to face the formidable batting line-up. He did his job exceptionally well, getting 10 wickets in the second match, but with such a modest total to defend, the South African batsman managed to survive his magical deliveries and go past the finish line.

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Posted by Muhammad Qasim Hassan on Feb 19 2013. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.