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Pakistan, Oct. 14 — Noman Ali’s four-wicket performance enabled Pakistan to take the lead as South Africa ended the second day of the first test match at Gaddafi Stadium on Monday at 216-6.

South Africa is 162 runs behind Pakistan, with three days remaining.

On a day marked by unpredictable outcomes, 11 wickets fell, all taken by spin bowlers. The first session belonged to South Africa, who took five wickets and kept Pakistan at 378. In the second and third sessions, South Africa lost six wickets—each to spinners Noman Ali, Hasan Ali, and Salman Agha—by the end of the day’s play.

Ryan Rickelton, scoring 71 off 137 balls, and Toni de Zorzi both achieved half-century scores. They formed a vital 64-run partnership for the third wicket, helping their team avoid the threat of a follow-on. Rickelton struck nine boundaries and two sixes during his innings before being dismissed by a fine catch from Babar Azam in the slips off Salman Agha. Zorzi remained not out, contributing a cautious 81 that included nine boundaries and one six.

South Africa began strongly with 45 runs, but stand-in captain Aiden Markram, who scored 20 off 37 balls, was dismissed by Noma Ali’s left-arm spin. Wiaan Mulder, who scored 17 off 41 balls, was also caught by Noman Ali. Rickelton’s wicket proved crucial as South Africa struggled towards the end of the day. Promising player Dewald Brevis was run out without scoring off a fine delivery from Sajid Khan, while Tristan Stubbs, who scored 8 off 7 balls, lost his wicket early. Kyle Verreynne also fell to an excellent ball from Noman Ali.

Senuran Muthusamy remained not out on 6 (19) at the end of day two. Out of the 67 overs in the South African innings, 58 were bowled by spinners, while nine were taken by Shaheen Shah Afridi (5-3-15-0) and Hasan Ali (4-4-14-0), who did not take any wickets. Noman Ali was the standout performer for Pakistan, taking four wickets for 85 runs off 28 overs. Sajid Khan (24-2-73-1) and Salman Agha (7-2-21-1) each took one wicket.

Earlier on Tuesday, during the second day of the first Test match at Gaddafi Stadium, Senuran Muthusamy took a maiden 6-wicket haul, enabling South Africa to limit Pakistan to 378-10. The batsmen managed to score just 65 runs in 20.4 overs during the morning session, extending the overnight total.

South Africa achieved their objectives as wickets tumbled in groups. Simon Harmer had stated that they aimed to limit Pakistan to under 380. “We need to come strong tomorrow, and if we can keep them below 380, it will be a huge challenge. We didn’t get much luck with the pitch, but it was still a good day,” he mentioned.

Wickets fell in groups as Pakistan lost three wickets at the same score on two occasions, and the final two wickets also went down at 378.

Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha began the day at 313-7, scoring an additional 49 runs to the previous night’s total before Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed by Muthusamy for 75 (140) after contributing 13 runs to his overnight score. Salman Agha was caught in the 90s while attempting to hit the ball out of the park, with Muthusamy taking the catch at deep mid-wicket off Subrayen, who secured his second wicket of the innings.

Salman Agha’s weak shot failed to clear the boundary, and Pakistan was unable to reach the much-anticipated 400-run target. Nevertheless, a crucial 161-run stand between Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Agha played a key role in Pakistan’s favorable situation.

In a second dramatic collapse during the innings, Pakistan lost three wickets in a row at the same score when Rizwan, Noman Ali 0 (0), and Sajid Ali were dismissed by Muthusamy, marking his first five-wicket performance in the game. Muthusamy was in a hat-trick situation when Afridi came to bat.

However, Afridi succeeded in preventing the hat-trick. Earlier, Pakistan lost three straight wickets: Imam with 93 (153), Saud with 0 (0), and Babar Azam with 23 (48).

Despite not achieving the hat-trick against Muthusamy, Shaheen Afridi was unnecessarily dismissed by Muthusamy, allowing the left-arm orthodox spinner to record his best performance of 117-6. Muthusamy appropriately took over from Keshiv Maharaj.

Senuran Muthusamy became the most effective bowler for the Proteas, taking six wickets in a 117-6 spell, including consecutive wickets of Imam ul Haq and Saud Shakeel, followed by Noman Ali and Sajid Khan during his 32 overs. Simon Harmer secured the notable dismissal of Babar Azam, who scored 101 runs off 33 overs. Rabada took one wicket of Abdullah Shafique and conceded 56 runs from his 17 overs. All-rounder Wiaan Mulder gave away 13 runs from two unsuccessful overs, while Prenelek Subrayen added another wicket to his previous night’s performance, finishing with figures of 78-2 from 25.4 overs.

Aiden Markram delivered one over last night, conceding six runs.